152,981 Shares in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Purchased by Patton Fund Management Inc.

Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 152,981 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $6,694,000. Citizens Financial Group accounts for approximately 1.3% of Patton Fund Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CFG. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $8,134,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter worth approximately $1,910,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,974,434 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $217,781,000 after buying an additional 805,758 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 655,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,368,000 after acquiring an additional 29,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $590,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE CFG opened at $47.36 on Wednesday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.24 and a 52 week high of $49.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $20.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $45.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.25.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 6.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective (up from $55.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

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.