Clough Capital Partners L P Trims Stock Position in Citigroup Inc. $C

Clough Capital Partners L P reduced its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,510 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,860 shares during the quarter. Clough Capital Partners L P's holdings in Citigroup were worth $8,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. purchased a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. High Note Wealth LLC increased its position in Citigroup by 107.7% during the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 270 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Trading activity showed unusually strong demand for Citigroup call options, suggesting investors are positioning for further upside in the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup’s May consumer credit data was mixed but not alarming overall: card delinquencies declined, which may support the view that credit quality remains manageable. Article: Citigroup's Card Delinquencies Decline, Charge-Offs Rise in May
• Positive Sentiment: The stock is still benefiting from recent momentum tied to strong earnings, restructuring progress, AI-related initiatives and share buybacks, which have helped push shares toward multi-year highs. Article: Citigroup Stock at Multi-Year High: Why Investors Should Stay Invested
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a report that Citigroup had recently gone long on a more constructive market view via an economist’s call for Fed rate cuts, but this is more macro commentary than a direct company catalyst. Article: Citi chief US economist defends unpopular Fed rate-cut call
• Negative Sentiment: Two lawsuits tied to a former executive’s allegations over Trump-related client concerns and retaliation could create legal and reputational risk for Citigroup if the claims gain traction. Article: Citigroup faces lawsuit over alleged Trump-linked account issues

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the insider owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,194 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,908.20. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Citigroup Price Performance

C opened at $143.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.12. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $128.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.04. Citigroup Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.26 and a 52-week high of $146.54.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $24.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 target price on shares of Citigroup and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.79.

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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