Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Citigroup has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 14 buy ratings, one strong buy, and five holds. The average 12-month price target is about $137.79.
• The bank recently posted strong quarterly results, beating expectations on both earnings and revenue. It reported EPS of $3.06 versus $2.63 expected, while revenue rose 14.1% year over year to $24.63 billion.
• Citigroup’s board authorized a $30 billion share buyback, and the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, implying an annualized yield of 1.7%. The buyback signals management confidence that the stock may be undervalued.

Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $137.7941.

C has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Citigroup from $131.00 to $135.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th.

Citigroup Price Performance

C stock opened at $143.74 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $128.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.04. The stock has a market cap of $245.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.12. Citigroup has a fifty-two week low of $77.26 and a fifty-two week high of $146.54. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 9.35%.The firm's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Citigroup will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Citigroup's payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Citigroup News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Trading activity showed unusually strong demand for Citigroup call options, suggesting investors are positioning for further upside in the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup’s May consumer credit data was mixed but not alarming overall: card delinquencies declined, which may support the view that credit quality remains manageable. Article: Citigroup's Card Delinquencies Decline, Charge-Offs Rise in May
• Positive Sentiment: The stock is still benefiting from recent momentum tied to strong earnings, restructuring progress, AI-related initiatives and share buybacks, which have helped push shares toward multi-year highs. Article: Citigroup Stock at Multi-Year High: Why Investors Should Stay Invested
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a report that Citigroup had recently gone long on a more constructive market view via an economist’s call for Fed rate cuts, but this is more macro commentary than a direct company catalyst. Article: Citi chief US economist defends unpopular Fed rate-cut call
• Negative Sentiment: Two lawsuits tied to a former executive’s allegations over Trump-related client concerns and retaliation could create legal and reputational risk for Citigroup if the claims gain traction. Article: Citigroup faces lawsuit over alleged Trump-linked account issues

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citigroup

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PVG Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Citigroup by 322.0% in the first quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 16,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,908,000 after buying an additional 12,835 shares during the last quarter. Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,068,000. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Citigroup by 2.4% in the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 4,069 shares of the company's stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its stake in Citigroup by 19.0% in the first quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 4,019 shares of the company's stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Citigroup by 20.0% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 249,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,239,000 after buying an additional 41,436 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company's stock.

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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