Citigroup (NYSE:C) Shares Down 7.8% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) traded down 7.8% during trading on Friday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $84.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Citigroup traded as low as $56.31 and last traded at $58.16. 18,613,390 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 34% from the average session volume of 13,918,969 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.05.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Citigroup from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $85.50 to $75.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.23.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 134.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 3,144 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in Citigroup by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 20,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,302 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in Citigroup by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 7.9% in the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 5,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 7.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 9,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Trading Down 8.0 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $75.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.75, 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.

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 net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The company had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

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

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.