HSBC Boosts Citigroup (NYSE:C) Price Target to $70.00

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Free Report) had its price target raised by HSBC from $61.00 to $70.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on C. Societe Generale lowered Citigroup from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Citigroup from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Citigroup from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. TheStreet upgraded Citigroup from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Citigroup from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $63.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $59.56.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of C traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $63.24. 19,000,791 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,437,029. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $56.06 and a 200-day moving average of $48.95. Citigroup has a 52 week low of $38.17 and a 52 week high of $63.37. The stock has a market cap of $121.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 12th. The company reported ($1.16) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($1.89). Citigroup had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The company had revenue of $17.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Citigroup will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup's payout ratio is 53.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citigroup

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in C. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its holdings in Citigroup by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 39,782 shares of the company's stock worth $2,046,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Founders Capital Management raised its stake in Citigroup by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Cowa LLC raised its stake in Citigroup by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the company's stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 24,630 shares of the company's stock worth $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rossmore Private Capital boosted its holdings in Citigroup by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 13,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $710,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company's stock.

About Citigroup

Citigroup Inc, a diversified financial service holding company, provides various financial product and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions worldwide. It operates through five segments: Services, Markets, Banking, U.S. Personal Banking, and Wealth. The Services segment includes Treasury and Trade Solutions, which provides cash management, trade, and working capital solutions to multinational corporations, financial institutions, and public sector organizations; and Securities Services, such as cross-border support for clients, local market expertise, post-trade technologies, data solutions, and various securities services solutions.