Citigroup (NYSE:C) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.20 EPS

Citigroup (NYSE:C) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.20, Zacks reports. Citigroup had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 10.23%.

Citigroup Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:C opened at $131.87 on Tuesday. Citigroup has a 12-month low of $95.00 and a 12-month high of $147.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.57.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Citigroup from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Evercore set a $140.00 price objective on Citigroup in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Citigroup from $149.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.28.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup is expected to report third-quarter earnings before the market opens, with consensus estimates calling for approximately $2.62 in EPS and $23.72 billion in revenue. A beat or constructive outlook could support the stock, particularly after the company’s previous quarter exceeded expectations with $3.15 per share in earnings and 14.5% year-over-year revenue growth. Citigroup Q3 Earnings Report Preview
• Positive Sentiment: An investor letter highlighted Citigroup’s improving return on tangible common equity as a key part of the long-term recovery thesis. The view supports optimism that ongoing restructuring and efficiency efforts can improve shareholder returns. Citigroup Rebounding Return on Tangible Common Equity
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup’s research and investment-banking operations remain active: the bank initiated or adjusted coverage on several companies and upgraded JetBlue while downgrading Xerox. These actions may generate client activity and fees, but they are not direct changes to Citigroup’s earnings outlook. Citigroup Downgrades Xerox
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that higher government-bond yields could pressure bank funding costs, lending growth and dealmaking during earnings season. Citigroup is also working to accelerate the resolution of long-standing regulatory requirements, creating an ongoing execution and compliance overhang. Citigroup Seeks to Speed Up Regulatory Efforts
• Negative Sentiment: Citi card data showed U.S. luxury spending fell 6% year over year in September and 5% for the third quarter, signaling weaker discretionary demand that could weigh on card spending and consumer-related fee revenue. U.S. Luxury Spending Falls in September

Citigroup Company Profile

Citigroup Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in New York City and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol C. Through its subsidiaries and businesses, Citi provides banking, lending, investment, payments, wealth management and other financial services to consumers, businesses, governments and institutional clients.

Citi’s principal businesses include Services, which supports institutional clients with treasury, trade, securities services and related solutions; Markets, which provides sales, trading, research and financing services; Banking, which offers investment banking and corporate banking; and Wealth, which provides private banking and wealth management.