Algebris UK Ltd Purchases New Shares in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Algebris UK Ltd acquired a new position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 384,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,144,000. Citigroup accounts for approximately 6.6% of Algebris UK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Core Alternative Capital boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of C stock opened at $70.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $77.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.11. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.51 and a 52 week high of $84.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

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

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on C shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total value of $1,225,276.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at $8,893,277.80. This represents a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total value of $4,864,872.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 217,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149 in the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Citigroup 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.