Citigroup Inc. $C Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 holdings, 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.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in C. Cora Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Citigroup by 3.1% in the first quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 0.4% during the first quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Somerset Trust Co raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CFO Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. CFO Capital Management LLC now owns 5,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citigroup News Summary

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on C shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citigroup in a report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Argus set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.22.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:C opened at $131.46 on Friday. Citigroup Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.84 and a twelve 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 1.71. The company has a market cap of $224.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $137.20 and its 200 day moving average is $126.29.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.2 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is 28.94%.

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