Citigroup (NYSE:C) Hits New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $90.66 and last traded at $89.22, with a volume of 6506740 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $87.50.

The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.35. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The company had revenue of $21.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Cowen started coverage on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $92.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.11.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 4,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.26, for a total transaction of $301,504.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $890,656.48. This trade represents a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,935,599,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 455.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 31,352,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,206,908,000 after acquiring an additional 25,705,141 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 179.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,534,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,790,000 after acquiring an additional 9,334,038 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the first quarter valued at approximately $578,100,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,362,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,418,754,000 after acquiring an additional 7,863,718 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $79.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a market capitalization of $169.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.34.

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.