Citigroup’s (C) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Citigroup (NYSE:C) in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a $121.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Citigroup from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a report on Monday, November 24th. Piper Sandler set a $135.00 price target on Citigroup in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Citigroup from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.65.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of C stock opened at $117.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $110.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.84. The stock has a market cap of $209.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.18. Citigroup has a one year low of $55.51 and a one year high of $124.17.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.16. Citigroup had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 8.50%.The business had revenue of $19.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Citigroup will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $799,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp grew its stake in Citigroup by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. LeConte Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 3,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and weaker credit reserve build — Citi reported adjusted EPS above estimates and insiders highlighted lighter-than-expected loan-loss provisions, which reassures investors on near-term credit trends. Citigroup Q4 earnings (CNBC)
• Positive Sentiment: Investment-banking and advisory momentum — Citi saw a large jump in M&A/advisory fees (reported ~84% growth in advisory fees), which boosted revenue mix and offset some retail headwinds. Citi sees 84% jump in M&A fees (PYMNTS)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher targets — Several brokers have lifted forecasts and reiterated bullish views after the quarter, supporting the rally as investors mark up valuations. Analysts increase forecasts (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Cost actions signaled — Management reiterated a multi-year productivity/talent reset and CEO Jane Fraser warned more job cuts are likely; markets see this as both a path to improved efficiency and a near-term execution/transition risk. CEO signals more job cuts (TipRanks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Early rounds of layoffs — Citi announced ~1,000 role reductions this week as part of a larger plan; investors weigh cost savings against execution and morale implications. Citi job cuts (Barchart)
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed estimates and one-time Russia charge — Total revenue fell short of consensus and the quarter included a ~$1.2B pre-tax loss tied to the planned Russia exit, which trimmed reported profit and raised capital/earnings quality questions. Profit hit by Russia charge (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/political overhang on consumer credit — Industry headlines about potential credit-card rate caps are weighing on bank valuations and create an uncertain policy risk to Citi’s card business and future NII. Credit card rate cap risks (CNBC)

Citigroup Company Profile

Citigroup Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in New York City with roots tracing back to the City Bank of New York, founded in 1812. The modern Citigroup was created through the 1998 merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group and has since operated as a diversified bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments and institutions worldwide.

Citi’s principal businesses include retail and commercial banking, credit card and consumer lending products, wealth management and private banking, and a full suite of institutional services.