Citigroup (NYSE:C) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on C. Barclays upgraded Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.53.

Citigroup Price Performance

C stock opened at $74.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $139.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.42. Citigroup has a 1 year low of $53.51 and a 1 year high of $84.74.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The company had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Citigroup will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total transaction of $4,864,872.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total transaction of $2,433,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,586,498. This trade represents a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149 over the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citigroup

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Citigroup by 1.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,378,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,115,000 after buying an additional 54,782 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Citigroup by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 61,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,873,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in Citigroup by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 14,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the third quarter valued at $479,000. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 19.7% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 6,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 1,029 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.