Citigroup (NYSE:C) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $82.95 and last traded at $83.28, with a volume of 501171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays raised Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Citigroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.93.

Citigroup Stock Up 3.1 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $75.69 and a 200 day moving average of $67.76. The company has a market capitalization of $160.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of C. Core Alternative Capital grew its holdings in Citigroup by 83.4% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

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.