Citigroup (NYSE:C) Trading 0.6% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $91.00 to $94.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Citigroup traded as high as $68.78 and last traded at $68.67. 2,147,284 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 14,374,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.28.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (down from $96.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $84.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.50 to $75.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Citigroup from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.04.

Insider Activity

In other Citigroup news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total value of $1,225,276.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at $8,893,277.80. This represents a 12.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total transaction of $4,864,872.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 217,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citigroup

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in C. Core Alternative Capital raised its holdings in Citigroup by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Citigroup in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citigroup Stock Up 0.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $129.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $69.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.17.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.12. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $21.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.34 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Citigroup's payout ratio is currently 35.39%.

Citigroup declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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