Citigroup Inc. $C Position Lessened by Castle Hook Partners LP

Castle Hook Partners LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,200,555 shares of the company’s stock after selling 144,120 shares during the quarter. Citigroup accounts for 2.5% of Castle Hook Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Castle Hook Partners LP’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $606,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Cobalt Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $2,334,000. Azora Capital LP increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 802,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,617,000 after acquiring an additional 289,494 shares during the last quarter. Align Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $504,000. American Trust increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. American Trust now owns 2,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Trust Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,827,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

C has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 target price on Citigroup and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their target price on Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Citigroup from $131.00 to $135.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.79.

Key Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Trading activity showed unusually strong demand for Citigroup call options, suggesting investors are positioning for further upside in the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup’s May consumer credit data was mixed but not alarming overall: card delinquencies declined, which may support the view that credit quality remains manageable. Article: Citigroup’s Card Delinquencies Decline, Charge-Offs Rise in May
• Positive Sentiment: The stock is still benefiting from recent momentum tied to strong earnings, restructuring progress, AI-related initiatives and share buybacks, which have helped push shares toward multi-year highs. Article: Citigroup Stock at Multi-Year High: Why Investors Should Stay Invested
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a report that Citigroup had recently gone long on a more constructive market view via an economist’s call for Fed rate cuts, but this is more macro commentary than a direct company catalyst. Article: Citi chief US economist defends unpopular Fed rate-cut call
• Negative Sentiment: Two lawsuits tied to a former executive’s allegations over Trump-related client concerns and retaliation could create legal and reputational risk for Citigroup if the claims gain traction. Article: Citigroup faces lawsuit over alleged Trump-linked account issues

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total value of $3,285,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Citigroup Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Citigroup stock opened at $143.74 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market cap of $245.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.12. Citigroup Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.26 and a fifty-two week high of $146.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $128.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.04.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 9.35%.Citigroup’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Citigroup’s payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Citigroup declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Company Profile

Citigroup Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in New York City with roots tracing back to the City Bank of New York, founded in 1812. The modern Citigroup was created through the 1998 merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group and has since operated as a diversified bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments and institutions worldwide.

Citi’s principal businesses include retail and commercial banking, credit card and consumer lending products, wealth management and private banking, and a full suite of institutional services.