Rare Wolf Capital LLC Acquires New Holdings in Citigroup Inc. $C

Rare Wolf Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 7,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $897,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Verus Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Citigroup by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in Citigroup by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC increased its stake in Citigroup by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 3,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Citigroup by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on C. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Citigroup from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Citigroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.79.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi’s own research still expects the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut interest rates later this year, which could eventually support loan demand and market activity if inflation and employment soften in the second half. Citigroup (C) Still Expects the U.S. Federal Reserve to Cut Interest Rates This Year
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup announced a senior hiring in its EMEA investment banking franchise, bringing in William Mansfield from Deutsche Bank to lead M&A in the region, a sign it is investing in fee-generating advisory growth. Citi hires Deutsche’s Mansfield to lead EMEA M&A -memo
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup also launched new research with CREATE-Research on innovation in asset management, reinforcing its positioning in institutional services and client solutions. Citi and CREATE-Research Report: Innovation in Asset Management Pivots to ‘Operational Alpha’
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi’s outlook for Fed cuts was pushed back, with the bank now expecting 25-basis-point reductions in October and December rather than earlier in the year. That change is more a timing shift than a thesis break, but it suggests a less favorable near-term rate backdrop for banks. Citi Predicts Fed Rate Cuts Will Come Later Than Expected
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading activity showed unusually heavy call-option buying in Citigroup, which can indicate bullish speculation or hedging ahead of catalysts. Citigroup options activity
• Negative Sentiment: Higher-for-longer rate commentary from the Fed is a headwind for bank stocks in the near term because it can pressure funding costs and credit quality, even if it helps net interest income initially. Fed Holds Rates But Signals Hike: Key Takeaways for Bank Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Media reports about lawsuits and former-executive allegations tied to Trump-related account handling add a legal and reputational overhang for Citigroup. Citigroup faces lawsuit over alleged Trump-linked account issues

Insider Activity

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

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of C stock opened at $143.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Citigroup Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.50 and a fifty-two week high of $147.96. The firm has a market cap of $244.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $129.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.32.

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

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

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

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.