Citigroup (NYSE:C) Price Target Raised to $109.00 at Morgan Stanley

Citigroup (NYSE:C) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $109.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Citigroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.93.

Citigroup Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE C opened at $80.05 on Thursday. Citigroup has a 12 month low of $50.51 and a 12 month high of $80.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $151.40 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.43.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its quarterly 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. Citigroup had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 6.19%. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. Citigroup’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Citigroup will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is presently 64.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Citigroup by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 39,919,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,492,238,000 after purchasing an additional 791,758 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,027,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,998,976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,680,713 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 28,970,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,813,544,000 after acquiring an additional 911,694 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Citigroup by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 17,428,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,105,999,000 after acquiring an additional 913,231 shares during the period. Finally, Greenhaven Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 16,883,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,900,000 after purchasing an additional 242,545 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.