Encore Global Management LP Sells 6,750 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

Encore Global Management LP reduced its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 49.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,750 shares during the quarter. Encore Global Management LP’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 166.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 12,499 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Citigroup by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 1,669 shares during the last quarter. United Bank bought a new position in Citigroup during the 2nd quarter worth $972,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 3,016.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 26.9% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 15,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after buying an additional 3,238 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citigroup News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic IPO role could boost fee revenue and deal visibility. Citigroup is reportedly being added to the group of leading banks guiding Anthropic toward a potential initial public offering. A role on a large, prominent AI-company listing could generate underwriting fees and strengthen Citi’s capital-markets franchise. Anthropic adds Citigroup to top banks guiding its IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup received strong growth-oriented stock-market recognition. A recent ranking identified Citigroup and Goldman Sachs among financial giants receiving “buy” growth grades, reinforcing the view that Citi’s earnings and business outlook compare favorably with peers. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs lead as most financial giants earn buy growth grades
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi remains constructive on broader equity markets. The bank maintained an overweight view on equities and said it would use any weakness before the U.S. midterm elections to add exposure. This may support confidence in Citi’s research and client-facing businesses, although it does not directly change the company’s earnings outlook. S&P 500 may pull back before midterms, but Citi says buy the dip
• Negative Sentiment: Credit-quality concerns remain a risk. Citigroup’s July card delinquencies edged higher, although lower charge-offs provided some offsetting relief. Investors may continue monitoring consumer credit trends for signs of pressure on asset quality and loan-loss provisions. C’s July Card Delinquencies Tick Up

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer cut shares of Citigroup from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Citigroup from $158.00 to $154.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on Citigroup from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Citigroup from $135.50 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Citigroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.22.

Citigroup Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE C opened at $131.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.29. Citigroup Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.84 and a 12 month high of $147.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $24.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.74 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a $0.67 dividend. This is an increase from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.94%.

Citigroup announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.