Citigroup (NYSE:C) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Citigroup (NYSE:C) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Citigroup from $115.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $132.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Citigroup from $141.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $141.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.71.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE C opened at $112.32 on Thursday. Citigroup has a 52-week low of $55.51 and a 52-week high of $125.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.97.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $20.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Citigroup’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Citigroup will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In related news, insider Cantu Ernesto Torres sold 43,173 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.09, for a total transaction of $4,796,088.57. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 45,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,091,810.15. This trade represents a 48.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 87.6% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 257 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TD Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Citigroup by 92.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies started coverage with a “Buy” and $135 price target, signaling ~20% upside from recent levels and providing upward analyst momentum for the stock. Jefferies Initiates Coverage on Citigroup
• Positive Sentiment: Business win: Citigroup was appointed by BlackRock to support middle-office ETF functions and has completed multiple USD and RMB bond deals — a near-term fee and capital-markets revenue boost that underpins the bank’s trading and markets franchise. Citigroup (C) Is Up 5.6% After BlackRock ETF Mandate And Bond Issuances
• Positive Sentiment: Payments strategy push: Citi is actively pursuing payments and digital-asset advances (including tokenization and payments infrastructure), which could expand fee pools long term as banks and corporates modernize payments. Citi pursues payments advances
• Neutral Sentiment: Research on stablecoin rules: Citi analysts flagged that proposed limits on stablecoin rewards might slow USDC growth but wouldn’t break Circle’s model — a regulatory risk for crypto markets but not an immediate credit/earnings hit to Citi. Citigroup: Stablecoin Rewards Limits May Slow USDC Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Debt management: Citibank announced redemptions of $2B fixed-rate and $1B floating-rate notes due 2026 — removes near-term maturities (positive for solvency metrics) but uses cash or refinancing capacity (mixed impact on liquidity). Citibank Announces $2 Billion Redemption
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings: Citigroup is due to report Q1 results in April — the release and guidance will be a near-term catalyst that could swing sentiment either way. What You Need To Know Ahead Of Citigroup’s Earnings Release
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership churn in Asia investment banking: Citi’s co-head of Asia investment banking, Metzger, has left for Standard Chartered — a personnel loss in a key growth region that could pressure execution and client relationships. Citi’s co-head of Asia investment banking Metzger departs

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.