Citigroup (NYSE:C) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Citigroup (NYSE:C - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial began coverage on Citigroup in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised Citigroup from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $83.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.53.

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Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of C traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $74.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,889,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,304,832. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $140.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a PEG 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. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.42.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Citigroup will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup's payout ratio is 37.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 217,331 shares in the company, valued at $18,084,112.51. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Core Alternative Capital increased its stake in Citigroup by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company's stock.

About Citigroup

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.