Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Citigroup has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 19 firms, with an average 12-month price target of $145.
• Recent analyst updates have been mostly positive, including higher targets from UBS, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley, alongside buy or overweight ratings from several firms.
• The company has also been supported by strong business and financial news, including an expected $70 million fee from the SK Hynix listing, solid Q1 earnings beats, and a newly authorized $30 billion share repurchase program.

Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $145.00.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $134.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Evercore set a $143.00 price objective on Citigroup in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Citigroup from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citigroup

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of C. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Citigroup during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 197.6% in the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 244 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi is expected to collect about $70 million in fees from the SK Hynix listing, underscoring strength in its capital markets and advisory franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple pieces this week describe Citigroup (C) as one of the stronger large-bank names ahead of earnings, supported by resilient trading activity, investment banking momentum, and loan demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and TV mentions have also kept Citi in the spotlight as a favored bank stock, suggesting continued institutional confidence in the name. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Earlier coverage said Citi’s Q1 results were the strongest among diversified banks, reinforcing the view that the company is executing well relative to peers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi also announced that SCB is now live with its 24/7 USD Clearing and Citi Token Services, a constructive step in digital payments infrastructure, but not a near-term earnings driver. Article Title

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE C opened at $140.67 on Monday. Citigroup has a fifty-two week low of $85.61 and a fifty-two week high of $147.96. The stock has a market cap of $239.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $133.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.43. The company 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Citigroup will post 10.89 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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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