Citigroup Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:C)

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 158,023 call options on the company. This is an increase of 62% compared to the average daily volume of 97,670 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on C shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Citigroup from $92.00 to $91.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Citigroup from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Citigroup from $75.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Citigroup from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allen Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 3,718 shares in the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC grew its position in Citigroup by 5.4% during the third quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 6,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC now owns 11,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,966 shares during the period. Finally, AM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 39,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,481,000 after purchasing an additional 5,310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Stock Performance

C traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.69. 12,430,210 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,369,971. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $61.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.99. Citigroup has a 52-week low of $38.41 and a 52-week high of $67.81.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.20. Citigroup had a net margin of 4.95% and a return on equity of 6.26%. The company had revenue of $20.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Citigroup will post 5.76 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.75%.

Citigroup Company Profile

Citigroup Inc, a diversified financial service holding company, provides various financial product and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions worldwide. It operates through five segments: Services, Markets, Banking, U.S. Personal Banking, and Wealth. The Services segment includes Treasury and Trade Solutions, which provides cash management, trade, and working capital solutions to multinational corporations, financial institutions, and public sector organizations; and Securities Services, such as cross-border support for clients, local market expertise, post-trade technologies, data solutions, and various securities services solutions.