Citigroup (NYSE:C) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research lowered Citigroup from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Citigroup from $131.00 to $135.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.62.

Citigroup Stock Down 2.8%

NYSE:C opened at $125.52 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14. Citigroup has a 12-month low of $71.29 and a 12-month high of $135.29.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $24.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 9.35%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Citigroup will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 29.74%.

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

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In other news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total value of $3,285,250.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at $23,919,511.02. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cantu Ernesto Torres sold 43,173 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.09, for a total value of $4,796,088.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 45,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,091,810.15. This trade represents a 48.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,318 shares of company stock worth $10,764,814. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Citigroup

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cora Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 3.1% in the first quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 0.4% during the first quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. CFO Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 1.5% during the first quarter. CFO Capital Management LLC now owns 5,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Citigroup by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup unveiled a new $30 billion share buyback plan, a strong signal that management sees the stock as undervalued and has confidence in its capital position. RTT News
• Positive Sentiment: The company set a profitability target of 11% to 13% adjusted return on tangible common equity for 2027-2028, with further improvement expected by 2031, reinforcing the turnaround story. Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on Citigroup to $153 from $140 and kept an outperform rating, showing Wall Street still sees meaningful upside. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Jane Fraser said the global economy remains resilient, but warned that the market may not yet fully understand the second- and third-order effects of the Iran war and ongoing inflation pressures. YouTube/CNBC
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors viewed the new profit targets as too modest, suggesting Citigroup may still trail peers longer than hoped despite the overhaul. Quartz

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.