Citigroup (NYSE:C) Stock Price Up 3.8% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) rose 3.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $64.43 and last traded at $63.97. Approximately 5,899,258 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 14,344,465 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

C has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Citigroup from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.54.

Citigroup Stock Up 3.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $72.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.01.

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

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

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

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total transaction of $4,864,872.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total value of $1,225,276.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,893,277.80. The trade was a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citigroup

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Core Alternative Capital boosted its holdings in Citigroup by 83.4% during the 4th quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.