Brokerages Set Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) PT at $137.79

Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $137.7941.

Several research analysts have weighed in on C shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In other Citigroup news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total transaction of $3,285,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 197.6% during the 1st quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 244 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Trading Down 0.8%

Citigroup stock opened at $143.84 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $131.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.43. Citigroup has a 52 week low of $81.07 and a 52 week high of $147.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.12.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.43. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Citigroup will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Citigroup declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: U.S. regulators said the biggest banks, including Citigroup, passed the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test, which should support capital returns such as share buybacks and dividends. Big Banks Pass Fed Stress Test, Paving Way for Payouts
• Positive Sentiment: The Fed also said major banks could absorb severe recession losses and keep lending, reinforcing the view that the sector remains well capitalized and resilient. Big Banks Can Weather Severe Recession, Fed Says, in Unusual Year for Stress Tests
• Neutral Sentiment: Market chatter around Citigroup continues to highlight improved sentiment on its earnings outlook, better capital-return expectations, and analyst price targets clustering around the mid-$140s, though some institutional holders have trimmed positions recently. Citigroup Stock (C) Opinions on Market Positioning and Earnings Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup also appeared in deal-making news as it is helping advise on the planned public listing of Egyptian digital bank MNT-Halan, which adds to its investment-banking pipeline but is not likely a major immediate stock driver. Egyptian Digital Bank MNT-Halan Plans to Go Public

Citigroup Company Profile

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.