MKP Capital Management L.L.C. Invests $40.84 Million in Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• MKP Capital Management bought 350,000 shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter, a stake worth about $40.84 million, making Citi its 10th-largest holding and about 1.5% of the portfolio.
• Citigroup has drawn continued attention from institutional investors and analysts, with 71.72% of shares owned by institutions and multiple Wall Street firms raising price targets; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $137.62 target.
• The bank reported solid recent results, with quarterly EPS of $3.06 beating estimates and revenue up 14.1% year over year, while also authorizing a $30 billion share repurchase plan and paying a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share.

MKP Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 350,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,842,000. Citigroup makes up about 1.5% of MKP Capital Management L.L.C.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in C. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 92.2% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 319 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. High Note Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of 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. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the third quarter worth $33,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup could win a role in OpenAI’s IPO preparations, a marquee mandate that would support future fee income and showcase the bank’s investment banking reach. OpenAI reportedly in talks to add Citigroup and JPMorgan to its IPO underwriting team
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary says Citigroup has outperformed the Dow over the past year, while analysts remain cautiously optimistic, reinforcing a constructive near-term view on the stock. Is Citigroup Stock Outperforming the Dow?
• Positive Sentiment: Citi turned more bullish on copper, raising its price outlook sharply; that call may be viewed as supportive for Citi’s broader markets and commodities franchise, and for sentiment around the bank’s research influence. Citi turns bullish on copper, sees price hitting $15,000 per ton within a year
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup forecast that the tokenized securities market could reach $5.5 trillion underscores its interest in digital assets and market infrastructure, but the near-term stock impact is unclear. Citigroup Forecasts Tokenized Securities Market Will Hit $5.5 Trillion
• Neutral Sentiment: News that Citi is working with Fannie Mae on a reperforming-loan sale is a routine capital markets-related item and does not appear to materially change the earnings outlook on its own. Is Fannie Mae’s Latest Reperforming Loan Sale With Citigroup Quietly Reshaping FNMA’s Risk Profile?

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other Citigroup news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on C shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $131.00 to $135.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Citigroup in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.62.

Citigroup Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of C stock opened at $128.86 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.30 and a 1 year high of $135.29. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $123.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. 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 analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. The company's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Citigroup's payout ratio is presently 29.74%.

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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