Citigroup (NYSE:C) Trading 2.3% Higher Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) traded up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $65.63 and last traded at $64.68. 8,075,664 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 14,376,856 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.22.

The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.12. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm had revenue of $21.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.34 billion.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on C shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $83.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Citigroup from $84.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.61.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total value of $1,225,276.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,893,277.80. This trade represents a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total value of $2,433,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at $18,586,498. The trade was a 11.57 % 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 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citigroup

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of C. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,935,599,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 455.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 31,352,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,206,908,000 after purchasing an additional 25,705,141 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,362,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,418,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,863,718 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Citigroup by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,027,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,998,976,000 after purchasing an additional 4,680,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Citigroup by 90.2% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 8,326,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,120,000 after buying an additional 3,947,912 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citigroup Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.91. The company has a market cap of $116.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

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.