Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Citigroup Call Options (NYSE:C)

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 221,378 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 100% compared to the typical volume of 110,528 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

C has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $92.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Citigroup from $85.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Citigroup from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.04.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,225,276.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,893,277.80. The trade was a 12.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total transaction of $2,433,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,586,498. The trade was a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 108,007 shares of company stock worth $8,824,653. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in C. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Citigroup by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Citigroup by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Citigroup by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in Citigroup by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 4,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citigroup Trading Up 3.6 %

Citigroup stock opened at $70.57 on Friday. Citigroup has a 12 month low of $53.51 and a 12 month high of $84.74. The stock has a market cap of $132.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86, 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 $68.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.20. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.12. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm had revenue of $21.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.34 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Citigroup will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is 35.39%.

Citigroup declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.