SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 716,737 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC increased its Citigroup stake by 54.3% in the first quarter, buying 716,737 shares and bringing its total holding to 2,036,286 shares valued at about $230.9 million.
• Citigroup reported strong first-quarter results, with EPS of $3.06 topping estimates and revenue of $24.63 billion beating expectations, while revenue rose 14.1% year over year.
• The bank also announced a $30 billion share repurchase authorization and continues paying a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, signaling confidence in capital returns to shareholders.

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 54.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,036,286 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 716,737 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.12% of Citigroup worth $230,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of C. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 375,977 shares of the company's stock worth $43,873,000 after purchasing an additional 16,744 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 663,416 shares of the company's stock worth $67,337,000 after purchasing an additional 98,082 shares during the period. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at $7,165,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Citigroup by 166.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 12,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Citigroup by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,306,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,496,000 after purchasing an additional 365,041 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Citigroup Price Performance

NYSE:C opened at $143.37 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $129.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.61. The stock has a market cap of $244.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.12. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.50 and a 52 week high of $147.96.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 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 the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 9.35%.The business's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Citigroup's payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on C. Truist Financial set a $147.00 price target on Citigroup in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Citigroup in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $131.00 to $135.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment 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 MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.79.

Citigroup News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi’s latest macro view suggests the Federal Reserve may keep rates higher for longer, which could boost net interest income for Citigroup (C) if short-term yields remain elevated. Citi Predicts Fed Rate Cuts Will Come Later Than Expected
• Positive Sentiment: The bank also announced a leadership move in Asia, appointing JianXun Toh to lead corporate banking in Japan, Asia North and Australia, reinforcing its push to grow institutional banking in a key region. Citigroup (C) Appoints JianXun Toh To Lead Corporate Banking In JANA
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains supportive, with Citigroup receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, which can help reinforce investor confidence in the stock. Citigroup Inc. NYSE: C Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi also highlighted innovation in asset management with a new report on “operational alpha,” underscoring its broader financial-services research franchise, though the direct stock impact is limited. Citi and CREATE-Research Report: Innovation in Asset Management Pivots to ‘Operational Alpha’
• Negative Sentiment: A Reuters/Fox Business report said the Justice Department is probing transactions tied to a network linked to Iran’s supreme leader, including possible connections to Wall Street firms such as Citigroup, creating headline risk for the bank. DOJ probes JPMorgan, Citigroup transactions tied to Iran supreme leader's business network

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citigroup 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 transaction of $3,285,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,919,511.02. This trade represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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