Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C – Get Rating) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.03.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on C shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Citigroup from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Citigroup from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Citigroup from $53.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, May 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Citigroup from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 24th.

Citigroup Price Performance

C stock opened at $45.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Citigroup has a 1 year low of $40.01 and a 1 year high of $54.56. The firm has a market cap of $88.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.73.

Citigroup (NYSE:C – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 14th. The company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.53. Citigroup had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 12.96%. The business had revenue of $21.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Citigroup will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Investors of record on Monday, May 1st will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 28th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Zdenek Turek sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $598,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 155,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,778,672.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Sara Wechter sold 2,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $149,771.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 82,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,689.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Zdenek Turek sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $598,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 155,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,778,672.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arlington Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its position in Citigroup by 72.1% in the 4th quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Citigroup in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. EWG Elevate Inc. bought a new position in Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.90% of the company’s stock.

About Citigroup

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Citigroup, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of financial products and services. It operates through the following segments: Global Consumer Banking, Institutional Clients Group, and Corporate and Other. The Global Consumer Banking segment provides traditional banking services to retail customers through retail banking, including commercial banking, and Citi-branded cards and Citi retail services.