Citigroup (NYSE:C) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $97.98 and last traded at $95.46, with a volume of 3111137 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $97.08.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on C shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $89.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.96.

Citigroup Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.23.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $21.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.75 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. Citigroup has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Citigroup’s payout ratio is currently 35.45%.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In other news, Director Peter B. Henry sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.40, for a total transaction of $271,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $193,456. This represents a 58.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of C. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 3.6% during the second quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Fullcircle Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 0.9% during the second quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC now owns 13,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 6.5% during the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 3.7% during the second quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 119 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.