We’ll now focus our attention on Citizens Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:CFG), whose shares are trading at relatively the same level as they were trading at the beginning of the year. The number of hedge funds and other investors that hold a long position in this stock shrank significantly, to 38 from 76, whereas the value of these positions plummeted to $1.21 billion from $2.33 billion. Citizens Financial Group operates as the bank holding company for Citizens Bank, which is set to return $14 million to individual and business customers in an agreement with federal regulators for failing to credit its customers for all of their deposits. The bank has also been fined $20.5 million by three federal agencies. Some of the largest equity holders in Citizens Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:CFG) within our database include David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital and Robert Pohly’s Samlyn Capital, owning 12.56 million shares and 5.18 million shares, respectively.
Let’s briefly discuss hedge funds’ sentiment on Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF), which has seen its stock decline by 8% since the beginning of 2015. Despite the fact that the number of hedge funds with positions in the stock dropped to 41 from 51, the value of the capital invested in the shares of this company was boosted to $1.92 billion from $1.82 billion. Argus, a financial advisory company, recently upgraded its rating on Capital One to “Buy” from “Hold” and established a price target of $92, which yields a potential upside of 20% from the closing price of $76.62 on August 21. The firm suggested that the recent sell-off of the stock triggered by the company’s weak second quarter earnings has created a great buying opportunity. Earlier this month, Capital One announced its plans to acquire an $8.5 billion healthcare loan portfolio from General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), which will reinforce the company’s strategy of expanding into lending operations. Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital is among the most bullish hedge funds on Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) within our database, holding a 3.59 million share-position.
Last of all, Voya Financial Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) is another finance stock that lost interest among hedge funds during the second quarter. The number of hedge funds that held a position in the company decreased to 40 from 55, while the value of these positions shrank to $2.09 billion from $2.77 billion. The shares of Voya have not generated any gains for long-term investors so far this year, as the stock has remained flat year-to-date. In the meantime, the company recently posted its financial results for the second quarter, reporting net income of $285 million, compared to $248 million reported a year ago. At the same time, the company’s ongoing business adjusted operating earnings before income taxes came to $319 million, compared to $346 million reported a year ago. From the pool of 737 actively reporting hedge funds that we track, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group is listed among the largest shareholders of Voya Financial Inc. (NYSE:VOYA), with a stake of 4.65 million shares.
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