Citigroup Inc. $C Shares Purchased by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 292.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 566,581 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 422,097 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $64,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in C. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. acquired a new position in Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new stake in Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi is expected to collect about $70 million in fees from the SK Hynix listing, underscoring strength in its capital markets and advisory franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple pieces this week describe Citigroup (C) as one of the stronger large-bank names ahead of earnings, supported by resilient trading activity, investment banking momentum, and loan demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and TV mentions have also kept Citi in the spotlight as a favored bank stock, suggesting continued institutional confidence in the name. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Earlier coverage said Citi’s Q1 results were the strongest among diversified banks, reinforcing the view that the company is executing well relative to peers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi also announced that SCB is now live with its 24/7 USD Clearing and Citi Token Services, a constructive step in digital payments infrastructure, but not a near-term earnings driver. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

C has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Citigroup from $147.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Citigroup from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Citigroup from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

Citigroup Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE C opened at $140.67 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $239.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.11. Citigroup Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.61 and a 12-month high of $147.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.88.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.43. The business 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.89 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In related news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,194 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,908.20. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total transaction of $3,285,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.