National Pension Service Decreases Stock Position in Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• National Pension Service trimmed its Citigroup stake by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, though it still held nearly 4.0 million shares valued at about $463.9 million.
• Citigroup reported a strong quarterly earnings beat, posting $3.06 EPS versus expectations of $2.63 and revenue of $24.63 billion, up 14.1% year over year.
• The company authorized a massive $30 billion share buyback and recently paid a $0.60 quarterly dividend, while analysts largely remain positive with an average rating of Moderate Buy and a $137.62 price target.

National Pension Service reduced its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,975,418 shares of the company's stock after selling 69,214 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.22% of Citigroup worth $463,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in C. Donaldson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the 3rd quarter valued at $58,994,000. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in Citigroup by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 375,977 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,873,000 after buying an additional 16,744 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Citigroup by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 663,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,337,000 after buying an additional 98,082 shares during the last quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at $7,165,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Citigroup by 166.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,407,000 after buying an additional 12,499 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citigroup news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was 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 approximately $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Citigroup Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of C stock opened at $124.76 on Friday. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.30 and a 1 year high of $135.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $122.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $212.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in 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 board 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on C shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore set a $139.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Truist Financial set a $147.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Citigroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.62.

Trending Headlines about Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary points to Citigroup’s revenue growth potential through 2026, driven by loan demand, private credit expansion, and continued restructuring/transformation progress. Top Research Reports for Citigroup, TotalEnergies & AppLovin
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings momentum remains a tailwind: Citigroup beat consensus expectations last quarter and posted double-digit revenue growth year over year, reinforcing the case that the turnaround is gaining traction.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains favorable overall, with recent buy/overweight ratings and several higher price targets suggesting analysts still see upside in Citigroup (C).
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles compared Citigroup’s performance with peers such as Goldman Sachs and BGC Group, but these were mostly valuation and relative-performance discussions rather than new fundamental developments. Goldman vs. Citigroup: Which Financial Giant Should You Pick Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Social-media chatter around the stock largely focused on Citi’s recent earnings beat and sector strength, but did not introduce a materially new catalyst.

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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