Citigroup (NYSE:C) Trading Up 2.3% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) rose 2.3% on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $65.63 and last traded at $64.68. Approximately 8,075,664 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 14,376,856 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.22.

The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.12. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The company had revenue of $21.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.34 billion.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Citigroup's payout ratio is 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

C has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $77.00 price target (down previously from $83.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Citigroup from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays upgraded Citigroup from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Citigroup from $85.50 to $75.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.61.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citigroup

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Core Alternative Capital grew its holdings in Citigroup by 83.4% during the 4th quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Citigroup in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citigroup Stock Up 1.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $119.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $71.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.92.

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.