Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $83.53.

Several brokerages recently commented on C. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of Citigroup stock opened at $74.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $77.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.42. Citigroup has a one year low of $53.51 and a one year high of $84.74. The stock has a market cap of $139.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Citigroup’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Citigroup will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total transaction of $2,433,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,586,498. This represents a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total transaction of $4,864,872.65. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Citigroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in C. Core Alternative Capital grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. lifted its position in Citigroup by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.