Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C – Free Report) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 177,732 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,771 shares during the period. Citigroup makes up 1.5% of Westpac Banking Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $24,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Paladin Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the second quarter worth $27,000. TD Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Citigroup by 197.6% in the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
C has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut Citigroup from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Citigroup from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore set a $143.00 target price on Citigroup in a research report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Citigroup from $150.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $135.50 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.22.
More Citigroup News
Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Anthropic IPO role could boost fee revenue and deal visibility. Citigroup is reportedly being added to the group of leading banks guiding Anthropic toward a potential initial public offering. A role on a large, prominent AI-company listing could generate underwriting fees and strengthen Citi’s capital-markets franchise. Anthropic adds Citigroup to top banks guiding its IPO
- Positive Sentiment: Citigroup received strong growth-oriented stock-market recognition. A recent ranking identified Citigroup and Goldman Sachs among financial giants receiving “buy” growth grades, reinforcing the view that Citi’s earnings and business outlook compare favorably with peers. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs lead as most financial giants earn buy growth grades
- Neutral Sentiment: Citi remains constructive on broader equity markets. The bank maintained an overweight view on equities and said it would use any weakness before the U.S. midterm elections to add exposure. This may support confidence in Citi’s research and client-facing businesses, although it does not directly change the company’s earnings outlook. S&P 500 may pull back before midterms, but Citi says buy the dip
- Negative Sentiment: Credit-quality concerns remain a risk. Citigroup’s July card delinquencies edged higher, although lower charge-offs provided some offsetting relief. Investors may continue monitoring consumer credit trends for signs of pressure on asset quality and loan-loss provisions. C’s July Card Delinquencies Tick Up
Citigroup Price Performance
NYSE:C opened at $131.46 on Friday. Citigroup Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.84 and a 12 month high of $147.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $137.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market cap of $224.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.12.
Citigroup (NYSE:C – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $24.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.74 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 10.23%.The business’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Citigroup Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This is an increase from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 28.94%.
Citigroup declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
About Citigroup
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.
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