Citigroup Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:C)

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 157,271 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 43% compared to the average volume of 109,869 call options.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE C opened at $69.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Citigroup has a 1 year low of $41.93 and a 1 year high of $70.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50-day moving average is $62.56 and its 200 day moving average is $62.42.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.20. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 4.70%. The business had revenue of $20.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Citigroup will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citigroup

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in C. MONECO Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 5,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 16,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Citigroup by 7.1% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on C shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Citigroup from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Citigroup from $91.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Citigroup from $75.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.06.

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.