Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Lowers Stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 101,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,700 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $7,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Core Alternative Capital raised its position in Citigroup by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Webster Bank N. A. raised its holdings in shares of 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 position in Citigroup by 184.0% during 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 in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citigroup Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:C opened at $81.17 on Wednesday. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.24 and a 52 week high of $82.91. 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 market cap of $153.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $75.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.41.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The firm had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS 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 $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

C has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Citigroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.93.

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.