Citigroup Inc. $C Shares Acquired by Ascentis Independent Advisors

Key Points

• Ascentis Independent Advisors increased its Citigroup stake by 66.3% in the first quarter, adding 11,454 shares to bring its total holding to 28,743 shares worth about $3.26 million.
• Citigroup continues to draw bullish analyst attention and recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.06 versus $2.63 expected and revenue up 14.1% year over year.
• The bank’s board approved a $30 billion share buyback, which authorizes repurchases of up to 13.7% of outstanding shares and may signal management sees the stock as undervalued.

Ascentis Independent Advisors lifted its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 66.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 28,743 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,454 shares during the period. Ascentis Independent Advisors' holdings in Citigroup were worth $3,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 107.7% during the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 270 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup remains in focus heading into the next bank earnings cycle, with analysts noting that expectations for the financial sector have been steadily improving and that large banks like Citi will help kick off reporting later this month. This keeps attention on whether Citi can extend its recent earnings momentum. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup recently announced a leadership addition in wealth management, appointing Michael Yannell to lead hedge funds within its alternatives platform. The move suggests Citi is expanding higher-fee wealth offerings to meet client demand, which may support revenue growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi also made news for trimming its bitcoin and ether price targets, reflecting a more cautious stance on crypto demand and delayed US regulation. This is more of a sentiment call on digital assets than a direct catalyst for Citigroup shares. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Citi warned that oil could slump to $60 a barrel as Middle East supply fears fade, which reinforces a more bearish macro view from the bank’s research team. While not directly tied to Citi’s core earnings, the call can weigh on market sentiment around its commodity and trading outlook. Article Title

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of C opened at $139.93 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $238.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $132.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Citigroup Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.48 and a twelve month high of $147.96.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $24.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on C shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Citigroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore set a $139.00 price target on Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,908.20. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total value of $3,285,250.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 182,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Citigroup 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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