Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.93.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on C. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Citigroup in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of C. Core Alternative Capital raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Citigroup during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 150.0% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Price Performance

C stock opened at $81.73 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.18. Citigroup has a 52-week low of $52.24 and a 52-week high of $82.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The company’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Citigroup will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.