Citigroup (NYSE:C) Given New $154.00 Price Target at Truist Financial

Key Points

• Truist Financial cut its price target on Citigroup from $158 to $154 but kept a Buy rating, implying about 15.5% upside from the previous close.
• Citigroup reported strong Q2 results, with EPS of $3.15 versus $2.74 expected and revenue of $24.75 billion, boosted by higher fixed income trading and investment banking fees.
• Despite the earnings beat, the stock was down 5.3% as investors remained focused on higher expenses and restructuring costs, even as Citi continues its transformation and share repurchase efforts.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Truist Financial from $158.00 to $154.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Truist Financial's price target indicates a potential upside of 15.53% from the company's previous close.

C has been the topic of several other reports. Evercore set a $143.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Citigroup from $135.50 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Citigroup from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $139.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Citigroup from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.76.

Citigroup Trading Down 5.3%

NYSE C opened at $133.30 on Wednesday. Citigroup has a 52 week low of $87.94 and a 52 week high of $147.96. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $134.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.11.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $24.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.74 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Citigroup will post 10.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth about $2,800,944,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 163,239,926 shares of the company's stock worth $19,048,467,000 after purchasing an additional 4,938,923 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $298,082,000. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the first quarter valued at approximately $252,972,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 291.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,319,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,978,000 after buying an additional 2,008,946 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup beat Wall Street expectations with Q2 earnings of $3.15 per share and revenue of about $24.8 billion, helped by strong fixed income trading and investment banking fees, marking the bank’s highest quarterly revenue in a decade. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Management said Citi is using the stronger quarter to accelerate investments aimed at supporting more durable returns, reinforcing confidence in its long-term turnaround strategy. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also highlighted ongoing transformation work and a push to improve technology and operating efficiency, which may help future profitability but could take time to show up in results. Barron's article
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, the stock moved lower as investors focused on the possibility of higher expenses, faster job cuts, and pressure on second-half profitability. Economic Times article
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple post-earnings headlines emphasized that Citi’s strong quarter may not fully offset concerns about restructuring costs and expense growth, which is weighing on sentiment today. Benzinga article

Citigroup Company Profile

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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