Clough Capital Partners L P Sells 45,670 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

Clough Capital Partners L P reduced its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 62.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,840 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,670 shares during the quarter. Clough Capital Partners L P’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $3,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. TD Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi analysts said the recent pullback in semiconductor stocks looks like a buying opportunity, which may support broader risk appetite and help sentiment around markets that Citigroup covers through its trading and research franchises. Pullback in chip stocks is a buying opportunity, Citi says
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup was highlighted in a new CMBS deal update, after pricing an $817 million multifamily conduit transaction, reinforcing Citi’s role as an active lender and securitization player in U.S. commercial real estate. Citigroup (C) Sets Post GFC Record With $817 Million Multifamily CMBS Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup reportedly closed a bullish South African rand trade after the currency looked “fragile” following South Africa’s surprise rate hold. This is more of a trading update than a major earnings driver, but it shows Citi is actively adjusting macro positions. Citi Drops Rand Bet After South Africa’s Surprise Rate Hold
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, a headline noting Citi’s bearish view on the “Magnificent Seven” may reflect the bank’s broader market outlook, but it does not directly change Citigroup’s fundamentals. Wall Street Bank Just Declared the Magnificent 7 as “Dead” — What Happens Next?

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on C shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Citigroup from $135.50 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Citigroup from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.67.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In related news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,194 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of C stock opened at $131.95 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $123.83. The company has a market cap of $225.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. Citigroup Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.94 and a twelve month high of $147.96.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $24.75 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a boost from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is presently 25.92%.

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