StockNews.com Downgrades Citigroup (NYSE:C) to Hold

Citigroup (NYSE:C) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on C. Truist Financial began coverage on Citigroup in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Citigroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.50.

Citigroup Price Performance

C stock opened at $71.08 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. 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 data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Citigroup will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total value of $4,864,872.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 217,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total value of $2,433,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at $18,586,498. This represents a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citigroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in C. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in Citigroup by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in Citigroup by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors grew its holdings in Citigroup by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 4,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

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.