StockNews.com Downgrades Citigroup (NYSE:C) to Hold

Citigroup (NYSE:C) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on C. Barclays upgraded Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Citigroup in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.50.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of C opened at $70.28 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.72. The stock has a market cap of $132.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. Citigroup has a 1-year low of $53.51 and a 1-year high of $84.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Citigroup will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In other news, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total value of $2,433,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,586,498. The trade was a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total transaction of $4,864,872.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citigroup

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,752,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,428,000. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth $534,000. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in Citigroup by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 163,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,497,000 after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. 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.