Citigroup (NYSE:C) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Citigroup reached a new 52-week high of $100.85 following an upgrade from Wells Fargo, which raised its price target from $115 to $125 and maintained an overweight rating on the stock.
• The company also received several price target increases from other analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.68.
• Citigroup recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend, raising it from $0.56 to $0.60, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.40 and a yield of 2.4%.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $115.00 to $125.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Citigroup traded as high as $100.85 and last traded at $100.71, with a volume of 12302837 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.79.

C has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $84.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citigroup news, Director Peter B. Henry sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.40, for a total transaction of $271,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $193,456. This trade represents a 58.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citigroup

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,851,890 shares of the company's stock worth $14,117,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,451 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 42,957,190 shares of the company's stock worth $3,645,084,000 after purchasing an additional 411,894 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,101,459 shares of the company's stock worth $2,917,794,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539,769 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,290,532 shares of the company's stock worth $2,748,571,000 after purchasing an additional 679,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 32,161,457 shares of the company's stock worth $2,737,583,000 after purchasing an additional 988,152 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citigroup Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $185.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.41. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $94.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.35. Citigroup had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The company had revenue of $21.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. The firm'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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from Citigroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is 35.45%.

Citigroup Company Profile

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.

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