Citigroup Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:C)

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 110,065 call options on the company. This is an increase of 54% compared to the typical volume of 71,265 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Citigroup from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.62.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of C traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $143.74. 13,129,029 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,504,797. Citigroup has a 12 month low of $77.26 and a 12 month high of $146.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market cap of $245.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.75.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced 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. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The business had revenue of $24.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. Citigroup’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Citigroup will post 10.68 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.74%.

Citigroup announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

More Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup’s credit-card delinquency trends improved in May, suggesting consumer credit quality is holding up even though net charge-offs rose, which points to a mixed but not alarming read on the bank’s lending book. Citigroup’s Card Delinquencies Decline, Charge-Offs Rise in May
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are still leaning on Citigroup’s recent momentum after a strong quarterly earnings beat, revenue growth of 14.1% year over year, and ongoing restructuring progress, which have helped keep the stock near multi-year highs. Citigroup Stock at Multi-Year High: Why Investors Should Stay Invested
• Positive Sentiment: The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, which removes immediate policy uncertainty and can support bank sentiment while markets continue to debate the path of rates later this year. Fed Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged, Officials See Possible Rate Hike This Year

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other Citigroup news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total value of $3,285,250.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at $23,919,511.02. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,194 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in C. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. bought a new stake in Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. TD Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Citigroup by 197.6% in the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 244 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

About Citigroup

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.