L & S Advisors Inc Has $16.65 Million Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• L & S Advisors Inc increased its Citigroup stake by 26.4% in the fourth quarter, adding 29,787 shares and bringing its total holding to 142,653 shares valued at about $16.65 million.
• Citigroup reported strong quarterly earnings, with EPS of $3.06 topping estimates and revenue of $24.63 billion also beating expectations; revenue rose 14.1% year over year.
• The bank announced a $30 billion share repurchase program and continues to receive mostly positive analyst coverage, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus Moderate Buy rating.

L & S Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 26.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,653 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 29,787 shares during the period. Citigroup makes up about 1.5% of L & S Advisors Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. L & S Advisors Inc's holdings in Citigroup were worth $16,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of C. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 166.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company's stock worth $1,407,000 after buying an additional 12,499 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 20.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,805 shares of the company's stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 1,669 shares during the last quarter. United Bank acquired a new position in Citigroup during the second quarter worth $972,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Citigroup by 3,016.7% during the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 935 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 26.9% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 15,287 shares of the company's stock worth $1,301,000 after buying an additional 3,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $265,260.10. Following the sale, the director owned 12,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Citigroup News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup plans to increase headcount in its Asia-Pacific prime brokerage business by about 10%, signaling confidence in rising hedge fund activity and an opportunity to capture more trading and financing revenue. Article: C to Expand Asia Prime Brokerage Team by 10%, Eyes Hedge Fund Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Separate reports suggest Citigroup is continuing to push its Asia expansion strategy, including potential licensing progress in China and a broader push to strengthen its regional investment-banking and markets presence. Article: Citigroup to Get License for Wholly Owned China Securities Firm as CEO Joins Trump Visit
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup has also been highlighted in analysis for adopting AI in ways that may generate returns, reinforcing the view that the bank’s technology investments could help support efficiency and profitability. Article: Citigroup: Not Only Adopting AI But Also Generating Returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Bloomberg reported that Citi said African borrowers are becoming more creative in debt sales, which is informative on market conditions but does not clearly change the near-term earnings picture. Article: Citi Says African Borrowers Are Turning Creative on Debt Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors remain focused on whether Citigroup can sustain its post-earnings momentum, with recent commentary noting the stock has already pulled back from the strong rally seen after its latest quarterly results. Article: After a 63.3% Surge in a Year, Is C Stock Worth Holding on to Now?

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of C stock opened at $123.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $119.50 and a 200-day moving average of $114.04. The company has a market cap of $210.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $71.65 and a one year high of $135.29.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $131.00 to $135.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.62.

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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