Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Short Interest Up 10.0% in November

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 33,550,000 shares, a growth of 10.0% from the October 31st total of 30,500,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 13,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Citigroup Trading Up 0.7 %

C stock traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $71.39. 11,925,904 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,379,509. Citigroup has a one year low of $46.40 and a one year high of $71.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $135.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $65.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.08.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $20.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.86 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 4.70%. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Citigroup will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 77,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,852,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 160.4% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Trust LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 4,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 18.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,027,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,998,976,000 after buying an additional 4,680,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 2.1% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 103,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,462,000 after purchasing an additional 2,092 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

C has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Citigroup from $75.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $91.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Citigroup from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.75.

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.