Citigroup (NYSE:C) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

C has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Evercore set a $143.00 price objective on Citigroup in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Citigroup from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Citigroup from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.67.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE C opened at $129.46 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $220.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $134.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.33. Citigroup has a twelve month low of $87.94 and a twelve month high of $147.96.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $24.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.74 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 10.23%.Citigroup’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Citigroup will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In other news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citigroup

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 166.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 12,499 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Citigroup by 20.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 1,669 shares in the last quarter. United Bank purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the second quarter valued at about $972,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Citigroup by 3,016.7% during the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Citigroup by 26.9% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 15,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup was added to Zacks’ Rank #1 (Strong Buy) list, signaling improving earnings momentum and potentially attracting more near-term buying. New Strong Buy Stocks for July 17th
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Citigroup, reinforcing the view that profits may continue trending higher. Citigroup stock page / analyst estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlighted Citigroup as one of the standouts in early Q2 bank earnings, alongside peers that beat expectations, which supports the broader bullish case for the shares. Q2 Earnings: 2 Winners and 1 Loser So Far
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup’s Q2 results beat estimates, with revenue and EPS both coming in above Wall Street forecasts, keeping investor sentiment constructive after the earnings release. Citigroup earnings data
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup announced a full redemption of its Series T preferred stock, which is a capital-structure change but not a major operating catalyst by itself. Citigroup Announces Full Redemption of Series T Preferred Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Several brokerage and market items reiterated or discussed Citigroup’s valuation and relative attractiveness versus peers, adding context but not introducing a major new surprise. Citigroup vs. Wells Fargo: Which Bank Stock Looks Attractive Post Q2 Results?

About Citigroup

Citigroup Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in New York City with roots tracing back to the City Bank of New York, founded in 1812. The modern Citigroup was created through the 1998 merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group and has since operated as a diversified bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments and institutions worldwide.

Citi’s principal businesses include retail and commercial banking, credit card and consumer lending products, wealth management and private banking, and a full suite of institutional services.