Citigroup (NYSE:C) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Citigroup has been downgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating.
• Despite the downgrade, ten analysts rate the stock as a Buy while six analysts assign a Hold rating, indicating a "Moderate Buy" average rating with a target price of $97.68.
• Citigroup reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.96, surpassing analysts' expectations, and its revenue for the quarter rose by 8.2% year-over-year.

Zacks Research cut shares of Citigroup (NYSE:C - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Citigroup from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Citigroup from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Citigroup from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $89.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.68.

Citigroup Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Citigroup stock traded up $0.23 on Monday, reaching $102.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,743,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,162,818. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Citigroup has a 52 week low of $55.51 and a 52 week high of $103.13. The company has a market capitalization of $188.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $95.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.75.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.35. Citigroup had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 8.44%.The company had revenue of $21.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Citigroup's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Citigroup has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Citigroup will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Citigroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citigroup news, Director Peter B. Henry sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.40, for a total transaction of $271,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,140 shares in the company, valued at $193,456. This represents a 58.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citigroup

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in Citigroup in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Accent Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Citigroup by 106.0% during the first quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in Citigroup in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.