Citigroup (NYSE:C) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Earnings Beat

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $76.83 and last traded at $76.69, with a volume of 4927019 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.50.

The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 4.70%. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.93%.

Citigroup announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on C. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Citigroup from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Citigroup in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Citigroup from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in C. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 184.0% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 568 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Trading Up 6.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $148.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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.