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

Key Points

• Investors bought an unusually large number of calls—125,853 call options on Citigroup on Friday, a 68% increase versus the average call volume, signaling elevated bullish options activity.
• Citigroup beat quarterly expectations with $3.06 EPS vs. $2.63 expected and revenue of $24.63 billion vs. $22.96 billion, while the stock trades near $127 and consensus analyst target is about $136.79.
• Insiders sold 92,318 shares over the last quarter (insider ownership ~0.11%), even as institutional investors hold 71.72% of the stock with large stakes from Norges Bank and Vanguard.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors bought 125,853 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 68% compared to the average volume of 74,788 call options.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total value of $3,285,250.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cantu Ernesto Torres sold 43,173 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.09, for a total value of $4,796,088.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 45,835 shares in the company, valued at $5,091,810.15. The trade was a 48.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 92,318 shares of company stock worth $10,764,814 over the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citigroup

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at $2,800,944,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 163,239,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,048,467,000 after buying an additional 4,938,923 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 17.6% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,125,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,854,788,000 after buying an additional 4,211,099 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 6.5% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,262,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,797,292,000 after buying an additional 2,871,074 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 6,172.0% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,904,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $294,838,000 after buying an additional 2,858,481 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Citigroup to $135.50 and kept an "overweight" rating, giving the stock fresh analyst support and near-term upside. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup advanced its disinvestment from Banamex with new investors joining the transaction — a material cleanup of legacy exposure in Mexico that reduces regulatory and capital overhang. With new investors on board, Citigroup advances its disinvestment from Banamex
• Positive Sentiment: Senior hiring push in Asia and global shareholder advisory hires (including hires from JPMorgan and Barclays) signal Citi is beefing up originations and cross-border M&A capabilities — supportive for fee income growth. Citigroup Hires JPMorgan’s Shukla as Head of Asia Infrastructure
• Positive Sentiment: Citi picked up recognition for digital-asset adoption (CIDAP, token services), highlighting revenue diversification opportunities in payments, trade finance and tokenized deposits. BeInCrypto 100 Institutional Awards Nomination: Citi for Leader in Digital Asset Adoption
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi research is publicly active — e.g., notes on gold and upgrades on pharmaceutical coverage — which underscores its investment-banking and research visibility but has limited direct impact on Citi’s own stock. Gold Likely to Remain Under Pressure for a Bit
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/market filings and investor attention stories (participation notifications; Zacks coverage) are keeping Citi in focus for investors but don’t indicate immediate balance-sheet changes. Participation notifications by Citigroup Inc.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports resurfaced about Citigroup paying roughly $52M to hire ex‑JPMorgan banker Vis Raghavan despite past bullying allegations; the coverage raises reputational and governance questions that could pressure sentiment. The $52 Million Mystery: Why Citi Hired a Banking Exec Facing ‘Explosive’ Allegations—and Stands Behind It

Citigroup Stock Performance

Citigroup stock traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $127.12. 3,344,712 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,194,275. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $117.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.11. Citigroup has a one year low of $69.17 and a one year high of $135.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $24.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 9.35%.Citigroup's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Citigroup will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

C has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. HSBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore set a $139.00 target price on Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.79.

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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