Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Citigroup has an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 14 buy ratings, one strong buy, and five hold ratings across 20 analysts. The average 12-month price target is about $137.62.
• Recent analyst updates have been largely positive, including higher price targets from Barclays ($154) and Piper Sandler ($145), plus reaffirmed bullish calls from Weiss Ratings and RBC. This reinforces the improving sentiment around the stock.
• The company also reported solid fundamentals, beating quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while announcing a $30 billion share repurchase program and continuing its regular dividend. Those actions suggest management sees value in the shares and is returning capital to investors.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $137.6176.

A number of research firms have weighed in on C. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore set a $139.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $139.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th.

Key Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup announced a private credit partnership with BlackRock’s HPS Investment Partners, a large €15 billion deal aimed at expanding direct lending across Europe, the U.K., and later the Middle East. The move could help Citi deepen its presence in private credit and generate new fee income. Citigroup (C) Forms Private Credit Partnership With BlackRock
• Positive Sentiment: Citi’s wealth business is also expanding, with management saying a significant share of new global hiring will be focused on Asia, where the private bank is growing faster and producing better productivity. That supports the bank’s restructuring story and long-term profitability goals. Citi to boost Asia wealth business with 'significant' hires, global head says
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup shareholder approval of an expanded stock incentive plan suggests investors are backing management’s compensation and retention strategy, which can help support execution on the company’s turnaround plan. Citigroup Shareholders Approve Expanded Stock Incentive Plan
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup also continues to benefit from a broader favorable view from analysts, including comments that Q1 results confirmed improving earnings momentum. Citigroup Upgraded As Q1 Results Confirm Earnings Improvement Direction For Banking Giant
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate commentary noted Citi expects India IPO activity to recover later this year, which is positive for capital markets activity but is more of a medium-term driver than an immediate stock catalyst. Citi sees India IPOs hitting fresh records despite challenges
• Negative Sentiment: One potential overhang is governance pressure: a separate report said more Citi shareholders voted against the bank’s say-on-pay resolution, reflecting concern about executive compensation and Jane Fraser’s pay package. More Citi shareholders vote 'no' on say-on-pay

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Citigroup during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. bought a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. TD Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Citigroup by 197.6% during the 1st quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 244 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citigroup Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE C opened at $125.10 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.84. The firm has a market cap of $213.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14. Citigroup has a 1 year low of $71.65 and a 1 year high of $135.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Citigroup will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.74%.

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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