Citigroup (NYSE:C) Shares Up 1.4% - Here's Why

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $62.97 and last traded at $62.97. 3,450,811 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 17,890,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.10.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on C. Barclays raised shares of Citigroup from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America cut their target price on Citigroup from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Citigroup from $85.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.61.

Citigroup Stock Down 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $71.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.05. The company has a market capitalization of $118.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.96 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 company had revenue of $21.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.34 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.39%.

Citigroup declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In related news, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total value of $2,433,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,586,498. This trade represents a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total transaction of $4,864,872.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 217,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149 over the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Core Alternative Capital lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquired a new stake in Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company's stock.

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.