Citigroup (NYSE:C) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $89.00 to $100.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Citigroup traded as high as $84.76 and last traded at $84.63, with a volume of 9348480 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.63.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on C. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen started coverage on Citigroup in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “hold” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Citigroup from $85.50 to $75.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Citigroup from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Citigroup from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 4,417 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.26, for a total value of $301,504.42. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $890,656.48. The trade was a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Citigroup by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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 valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 3.4% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citigroup Trading Up 2.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $74.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.53.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $21.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.34 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 7.95%. On average, research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.39%.

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.