Citigroup Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:C)

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 200,171 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 98% compared to the typical daily volume of 101,046 call options.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In related news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 4,417 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.26, for a total value of $301,504.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $890,656.48. This trade represents a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Citigroup

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of C. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Citigroup by 3.7% during the second quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 21,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Citigroup by 0.5% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 23,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

C has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 price objective on Citigroup in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on Citigroup from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $84.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citigroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.46.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of C stock opened at $90.06 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Citigroup has a 52-week low of $53.51 and a 52-week high of $91.80. The stock has a market cap of $168.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.34.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.35. Citigroup had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $21.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Citigroup will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a positive change from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Citigroup’s payout ratio is presently 35.45%.

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.