Norges Bank Takes Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,562,877 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $243,431,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.26% of Citizens Financial Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 207.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,272,043 shares of the bank’s stock worth $339,733,000 after acquiring an additional 5,579,313 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,826,368 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,060,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615,144 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $56,483,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,543,207 shares of the bank’s stock worth $155,051,000 after purchasing an additional 839,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,974,434 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $217,781,000 after purchasing an additional 805,758 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $40.26 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.16. The stock has a market cap of $17.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.06 and a 1-year high of $49.25.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 12.21%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CFG. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $51.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.67.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, corporations, and institutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking.