Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,727 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $2,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CFG. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 217.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,978,410 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $213,821,000 after acquiring an additional 5,465,824 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,213.2% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,746,064 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $100,395,000 after acquiring an additional 3,460,792 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 95.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,484,439 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213,573 shares during the last quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3,222.9% in the 3rd quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,163,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 693.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,171,070 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023,504 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $34.98 on Wednesday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.77 and a 52-week high of $36.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10). Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 11.52%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. Citizens Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total value of $151,198.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,471,902.90. The sale 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

Several research firms have recently commented on CFG. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of 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. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.93.

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.