Citigroup (NYSE:C) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $81.02 and last traded at $81.25, with a volume of 1968497 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on C shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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 research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Citigroup Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $71.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.88. The stock has a market cap of $154.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.43.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. Analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.51 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 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in C. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Citigroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Webster Bank N. A. raised its holdings in Citigroup by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 184.0% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 568 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Company 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.