Citigroup (NYSE:C) Stock Price Down 2.2% – Should You Sell?

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)’s share price fell 2.2% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $60.08 and last traded at $60.27. 5,792,213 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 14,374,079 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on C shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.54.

Citigroup Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $116.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.94.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The company had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. Citigroup’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Citigroup’s payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total value of $1,225,276.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,893,277.80. This represents a 12.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total transaction of $2,433,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,586,498. This trade represents a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Core Alternative Capital increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Citigroup during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

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.