Citigroup Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:C)

Key Points

• Unusually large options activity: Traders bought 93,383 call options on Citigroup on Monday, about a 25% increase versus the average daily call volume of 74,620.
• Significant insider sale: Insider Cantu Ernesto Torres sold 43,173 shares at an average of $111.09 (≈$4.8M), reducing their stake by 48.5%; insiders now own roughly 0.08% of the company.
• Share price and fundamentals: Citigroup shares fell 3.2% to $103.12 despite a quarterly EPS beat ($1.81 vs. $1.65) and multiple analyst upgrades, with a consensus target near $127.25 and a current dividend yield of about 2.3%.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 93,383 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 25% compared to the average daily volume of 74,620 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other Citigroup news, insider Cantu Ernesto Torres sold 43,173 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.09, for a total transaction of $4,796,088.57. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 45,835 shares in the company, valued at $5,091,810.15. This represents a 48.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in C. Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Citigroup by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,845 shares of the company's stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in Citigroup by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 595 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 3,191 shares of the company's stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Citigroup to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), signaling improved earnings expectations which can attract buyers and support the stock. All You Need to Know About Citigroup (C) Rating Upgrade to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: TradeSmith’s Health Indicator places Citigroup in the "Green Zone" for financial health, a signal used by some investors as confirmation of balance-sheet strength and lower downside risk. 3 Non-Tech Stocks in TradeSmith's Green Zone for Financial Health (C)
• Positive Sentiment: Citi executed a product innovation milestone by issuing an inaugural digitally native structured note on Euroclear’s D-FMI DLT platform — a potential growth vector in wealth management and capital markets product distribution. Citi Issues Inaugural Digitally Native Structured Note on Euroclear's D-FMI DLT Platform
• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg reports Blackstone is working with Citi on a revived sale of ShyaHsin Packaging — indicating Citi is advising on potential M&A activity that could generate fees and bolster investment-banking revenue. Blackstone Is Said to Work With Citi on Revived Sale of ShyaHsin Packaging
• Neutral Sentiment: Stablecoin/payments startup Kast raised $80M at a $600M valuation — a sign of active fintech competition and innovation in digital rails; this is industry context that could pressure or create partnership opportunities for banks like Citi but is not an immediate stock driver. Stablecoin payments firm Kast raises $80M at $600M valuation: Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that traditional banks may pursue legal action against the OCC over crypto charter approvals add regulatory noise for the industry; outcome and Citi’s exposure are uncertain, so this is a watch item rather than an immediate catalyst. Traditional Banks Consider Lawsuit Against OCC Over Crypto Charter Approvals
• Negative Sentiment: Citi suffered the largest fall among banks in a global gender-ranking report — a reputational/ESG hit that could weigh on investor sentiment, heighten scrutiny from ESG-focused funds, and become a longer-term cost if remediation requires investment. Citi suffers largest fall among banks in global gender ranking

Citigroup Stock Down 3.2%

C stock traded down $3.41 during trading on Monday, hitting $103.12. 10,173,657 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,910,183. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $115.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.17. Citigroup has a 52-week low of $55.51 and a 52-week high of $125.16.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.16. Citigroup had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The company had revenue of $19.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Citigroup will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on C shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $118.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $113.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Citigroup from $141.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, HSBC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.25.

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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