Principal Securities Inc. Has $3.15 Million Stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,681 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,951 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $3,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $276,000. Myriad Asset Management US LP acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,225,000. Constant Guidance Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,472,000. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. boosted its position in Citigroup by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 69,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,871,000 after buying an additional 20,012 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its position in Citigroup by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 7,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 1,707 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citigroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.93.

Citigroup Price Performance

C opened at $84.62 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $75.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $160.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.44. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.51 and a 1 year high of $84.67.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The company had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Citigroup Profile

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.