Citigroup (NYSE:C) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $81.02 and last traded at $81.25, with a volume of 1968497 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Citigroup Trading Up 1.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $154.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $71.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.65.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Citigroup

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 340.6% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 36,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,536,000 after buying an additional 27,856 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its position in Citigroup by 34.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 77,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,852,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 354,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,236,000 after purchasing an additional 8,301 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 168.7% during the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 19,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 12,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Citigroup by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,138,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,270,000 after buying an additional 20,291 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Citigroup

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.