Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises Citigroup (NYSE:C) Price Target to $140.00

Citigroup (NYSE:C) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 8.22% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on C. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $132.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Citigroup from $134.00 to $131.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Citigroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.94.

Citigroup Stock Performance

NYSE:C opened at $129.37 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $221.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 0.99. Citigroup has a fifty-two week low of $61.84 and a fifty-two week high of $132.86.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Citigroup will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cantu Ernesto Torres sold 43,173 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.09, for a total value of $4,796,088.57. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,835 shares in the company, valued at $5,091,810.15. This trade represents a 48.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of C. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 166.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 12,499 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 1,669 shares in the last quarter. United Bank bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the 2nd quarter worth $972,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 3,016.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Citigroup by 26.9% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 15,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 3,238 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat and trading surge — Citigroup reported stronger-than-expected Q1 results (EPS $3.06; revenue up ~14%), with fixed-income/trading revenues propelling the highest quarterly revenue in years. That beat is the primary driver of the recent rally and analyst upgrades. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price-target increases — Multiple firms have raised ratings and targets after the Q1 beat, lifting investor sentiment and underpinning the stock’s strength. Upgrades/target bumps support further upside expectations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: IFC/Citi $98M facility in South Africa — Citigroup joined IFC to launch a $98M facility to reduce local-currency risk for South African borrowers, extending Citi’s franchise and fee/investment relationships in EM markets. This is a tactical growth/relationship win in institutional and sovereign business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish market positioning — Unusually large call-option volume and social-media chatter celebrating trading gains indicate elevated investor bullishness and momentum flows into the stock. (Signals support near-term interest but can amplify volatility.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro backdrop — Weekly jobless claims came in below expectations, a positive macro print that generally supports bank earnings via stronger consumer activity and trading volume, but it also complicates rate outlooks. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Private-credit exposure disclosure — Citi reported ~$22B of private-credit exposure; the number is notable but within the range disclosed by peers and accompanied by loss-absorption commentary, so it’s a watch item rather than an immediate red flag. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and profit-taking after big run-up — Recent filings show insider sales and large one-year outperformance (~+110% Y/Y cited in social summaries); those factors, plus thinner-than-average volume today, point to profit-taking and supply pressure weighing on the stock. Article Title

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.