Citigroup Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:C)

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 122,419 call options on the company. This is an increase of 26% compared to the typical volume of 97,264 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

C has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Citigroup from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Cowen initiated coverage on Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.03.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In related news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 4,417 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.26, for a total value of $301,504.42. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $890,656.48. This trade represents a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 12,499 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $437,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Citigroup by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 184,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,989,000 after purchasing an additional 31,883 shares during the period. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Citigroup by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 15,059 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,060,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citigroup Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:C traded up $1.83 on Thursday, reaching $84.46. 18,553,929 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,551,291. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $73.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.45. Citigroup has a 52 week low of $53.51 and a 52 week high of $84.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.12. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 7.95%. The firm had revenue of $21.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.34 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Citigroup will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.39%.

Citigroup Company Profile

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.