Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Citigroup (NYSE:C)

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 178,445 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 50% compared to the typical daily volume of 118,812 call options.

Citigroup Stock Performance

NYSE C opened at $78.48 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $70.60 and its 200-day moving average is $65.22. Citigroup has a 12-month low of $50.51 and a 12-month high of $79.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market cap of $148.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.43.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 6.19%. The company had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Citigroup will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.93%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Citigroup in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $72.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citigroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.13.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Citigroup by 4.5% during the third quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Citigroup by 7.1% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. MWA Asset Management grew its stake in Citigroup by 1.4% during the third quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 12,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Citigroup by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 67,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,209,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Citigroup by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Company Profile

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.