Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 57,886 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 8.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 631,654 shares of the company’s stock after selling 57,886 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $64,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in C. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Citigroup by 166.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 12,499 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 1,669 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its position in Citigroup by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 7,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Citigroup by 43.5% in the 2nd quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on C. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $115.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $107.00 to $124.00 in a report on Friday, December 12th. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Citigroup from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.56.

Key Stories Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and screens are bullish: Citigroup was added to Zacks’ list of top income/strong-buy stocks, which can attract yield-seeking flows and bolster sentiment. Best Income Stocks to Buy for January 23rd
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying results remain supportive — Citi’s recent quarterly update showed an EPS beat and analysts have largely dismissed fears of an earnings re?rating after the company’s Q4 performance, which helps justify current valuations. Analysts Dismiss Re-Rating Fears After Bright Citigroup (C) Earnings Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi research notes that a Washington affordability agenda could boost fintechs and related exposures — this is sector-positive for fintech names but is a mixed read for Citi (opportunity for fee revenue vs. policy uncertainty). US fintech stocks could gain as Trump pushes affordability agenda, Citi says
• Negative Sentiment: Layoff plans: Reuters reports Citi will cut more staff in March (after ~1,000 jobs cut this month), likely affecting managing directors and senior employees — raises near?term execution and morale concerns even as costs fall; investors often react negatively to fresh rounds of cuts that signal tougher revenue outlooks. Exclusive: Citigroup to lay off more employees in March, sources say
• Negative Sentiment: Card pricing pressure/political optics: Reports that Citi is exploring a 10% capped-rate card to respond to political pressure (and CEO comments warning caps would hurt credit access) create uncertainty around future card yields and policy risk — potential margin compression if price caps or similar measures are implemented. Bank of America, Citigroup consider new credit cards with 10% rate, Bloomberg News reports

Citigroup Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:C opened at $113.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $112.04 and a 200 day moving average of $102.01. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.51 and a 52 week high of $124.17.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $19.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.99 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup’s payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

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.