PL Capital Advisors LLC Sells 12,000 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

PL Capital Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,553 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 12,000 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group accounts for approximately 1.7% of PL Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. PL Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $4,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,640 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 100.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 988 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:CFG opened at $35.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.68 and its 200 day moving average is $30.98. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.77 and a 12 month high of $36.38.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 11.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.78%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 6,327 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.70, for a total value of $213,219.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,265,704.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CFG shares. Barclays downgraded Citizens Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.13.

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.