Citigroup (NYSE:C) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $82.91 and last traded at $82.37, with a volume of 2743109 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Citigroup Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $155.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.02.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. Research analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Core Alternative Capital boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the third quarter worth $31,000. Webster Bank N. A. raised its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 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.