Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 8,000 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 16.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,000 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 8,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Quarry LP raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 77.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,314 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,640 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group 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 transaction of $213,219.90. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 2.9 %

NYSE CFG traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,919,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,314,813. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.77 and a 52 week high of $37.30. The company has a market capitalization of $16.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.10. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.10). Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Argus increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wedbush decreased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.67.

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.