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

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $82.91 and last traded at $82.37, with a volume of 2743109 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on C. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citigroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.93.

Citigroup Stock Up 0.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $155.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $74.45 and its 200 day moving average is $67.02.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The company 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 company earned $0.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.51 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citigroup

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 63,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,484,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 11,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $216,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

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.