Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts remain broadly positive: Nineteen analysts give Citigroup a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, including 13 buys and two strong buys. The average 12-month price target is $145.22, above the reported $131.61 share price.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Citigroup reported $3.15 in quarterly EPS versus the $2.74 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 14.5% year over year to $24.77 billion.
• Shareholder returns are increasing: The bank authorized a $30 billion share-buyback program and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.67 per share, representing an annualized yield of about 2.0%.

Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the nineteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $145.2222.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Citigroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Citigroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Citigroup from $158.00 to $154.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore set a $143.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Monday, July 6th.

Institutional Trading of Citigroup

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in C. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in Citigroup by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 413 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Formuepleje A S raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 8.2% in the second quarter. Formuepleje A S now owns 56,473 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,904,000 after acquiring an additional 4,278 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Grp LLC grew its holdings in Citigroup by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 13,560 shares of the company's stock worth $1,898,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Citigroup in the second quarter valued at approximately $67,504,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 12,834.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 360,205,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,414,367,000 after purchasing an additional 357,420,622 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company's stock.

More Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Higher earnings expectations: Erste Group Bank raised its fiscal 2026 EPS forecast for Citigroup, signaling improving confidence in the bank’s earnings outlook. The revision could support investor sentiment, particularly following Citigroup’s recent quarterly earnings beat and 14.5% year-over-year revenue growth. Citigroup FY2026 EPS Forecast Raised by Erste Group Bank
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi research highlights energy infrastructure growth: Citi analysts said the Permian Basin may be entering a multiyear natural-gas infrastructure expansion supported by more durable demand. The report may benefit Citi’s research and investment-banking franchise, but it has no direct material effect on Citigroup’s own near-term financial results. Citi sees Permian Basin entering multi-year natural gas growth cycle
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional analyst activity: Citi maintained a Buy rating on India’s Indraprastha Gas after a compressed-natural-gas price increase and turned bullish on Oracle’s cloud and artificial-intelligence prospects. These recommendations demonstrate ongoing research activity but are not direct catalysts for Citigroup stock. IGL shares jump after CNG price hike Why Citi Analysts Are Bullish on Oracle Stock Now

Citigroup Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of C stock opened at $131.61 on Tuesday. Citigroup has a fifty-two week low of $92.96 and a fifty-two week high of $147.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $224.47 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.12. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $135.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.89.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.41. Citigroup had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 10.23%.The firm had revenue of $24.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Citigroup will post 11.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a boost from Citigroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.94%.

About Citigroup

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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