9,728 Shares in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Bought by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 9,728 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $426,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,530 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 30,279 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 8,579 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 118,300 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,859,000 after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 35.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 104,219 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,280,000 after purchasing an additional 27,152 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 275,006 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,306 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CFG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Compass Point raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $58.00 target price (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:CFG opened at $44.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.04. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.30 and a fifty-two week high of $49.25.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 55.45%.

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.