StockNews.com Upgrades Citigroup (NYSE:C) to Buy

Citigroup (NYSE:C) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on C. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citigroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.53.

Citigroup Trading Up 0.2 %

C opened at $71.93 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $77.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Citigroup has a twelve month low of $53.51 and a twelve month high of $84.74. The firm has a market cap of $135.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued 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 company had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Citigroup will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total transaction of $4,864,872.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 217,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total transaction of $1,225,276.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,893,277.80. This trade represents a 12.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149 in the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citigroup

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in Citigroup by 340.6% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 36,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,536,000 after acquiring an additional 27,856 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 34.8% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 77,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,852,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 168.7% in the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 19,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 12,280 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 2.4% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 354,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,236,000 after purchasing an additional 8,301 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 200,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,139,000 after purchasing an additional 22,657 shares during the period. 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.