Citigroup FY2026 EPS Estimate Boosted by Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank slightly raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Citigroup to $10.86 from $10.82, above the current consensus estimate of $10.65. It also projected FY2027 earnings of $12.53 per share.
• Citigroup reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $3.06 versus the $2.63 consensus and revenue of $24.63 billion versus $22.96 billion expected. Revenue rose 14.1% from a year earlier.
• The bank announced a $30 billion share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, signaling confidence in capital returns to shareholders.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) - Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of Citigroup in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $10.86 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $10.82. The consensus estimate for Citigroup's current full-year earnings is $10.65 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Citigroup's FY2027 earnings at $12.53 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial set a $147.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Evercore set a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.62.

Citigroup Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:C opened at $123.39 on Monday. Citigroup has a 52 week low of $71.65 and a 52 week high of $135.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company's fifty day moving average is $119.50 and its 200-day moving average is $114.13. The company has a market capitalization of $210.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.14.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The company had revenue of $24.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Citigroup declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In other Citigroup news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $265,260.10. Following the sale, the director owned 12,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total transaction of $3,285,250.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Citigroup by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 163,239,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,048,467,000 after purchasing an additional 4,938,923 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Citigroup by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,262,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,797,292,000 after purchasing an additional 2,871,074 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Citigroup by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,252,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,036,712,000 after purchasing an additional 189,548 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Citigroup by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,196,783 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,990,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326,224 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Citigroup by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 33,887,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,954,307,000 after purchasing an additional 846,772 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup plans to increase headcount in its Asia-Pacific prime brokerage business by about 10%, signaling confidence in rising hedge fund activity and an opportunity to capture more trading and financing revenue. Article: C to Expand Asia Prime Brokerage Team by 10%, Eyes Hedge Fund Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Separate reports suggest Citigroup is continuing to push its Asia expansion strategy, including potential licensing progress in China and a broader push to strengthen its regional investment-banking and markets presence. Article: Citigroup to Get License for Wholly Owned China Securities Firm as CEO Joins Trump Visit
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup has also been highlighted in analysis for adopting AI in ways that may generate returns, reinforcing the view that the bank’s technology investments could help support efficiency and profitability. Article: Citigroup: Not Only Adopting AI But Also Generating Returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Bloomberg reported that Citi said African borrowers are becoming more creative in debt sales, which is informative on market conditions but does not clearly change the near-term earnings picture. Article: Citi Says African Borrowers Are Turning Creative on Debt Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors remain focused on whether Citigroup can sustain its post-earnings momentum, with recent commentary noting the stock has already pulled back from the strong rally seen after its latest quarterly results. Article: After a 63.3% Surge in a Year, Is C Stock Worth Holding on to Now?

About Citigroup

Citigroup Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in New York City with roots tracing back to the City Bank of New York, founded in 1812. The modern Citigroup was created through the 1998 merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group and has since operated as a diversified bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments and institutions worldwide.

Citi's principal businesses include retail and commercial banking, credit card and consumer lending products, wealth management and private banking, and a full suite of institutional services.

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