Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Purchases 3,805 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 94.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,813 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,805 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $1,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in C. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Citigroup during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. TD Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 197.6% in the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Healthcare banking expansion: Citigroup appointed new leadership covering biotechnology, medical technology, biopharmaceuticals and acute care. The changes position the bank to capture increased healthcare mergers-and-acquisitions and capital-markets activity, potentially supporting fee revenue. Citi Taps New Healthcare Banking Leadership as Dealmaking Heats Up
• Positive Sentiment: Strong operating momentum: Citigroup’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $3.15 versus a $2.74 consensus estimate and revenue of $24.77 billion versus $23.74 billion expected. Revenue rose 14.5% year over year, reinforcing the stock’s positive earnings momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: Advisory and financing activity: Citi led a $414 million financing tranche for restaurant-commerce company inKind, bringing the company’s total capital raised above $1.2 billion. The transaction highlights Citi’s ability to win large private-company financing mandates and generate investment-banking fees. inKind Secures $414 Million in Financing Led by Citi and Cross River
• Neutral Sentiment: New bond offerings: Citigroup announced fixed-income offerings, including 5.05% notes due 2030 and zero-coupon notes due 2056. The deals provide evidence of continued market access and funding flexibility, although investors may monitor borrowing costs and the effect of additional debt on margins and leverage. Is Citigroup Undervalued After Its Latest Bond Offerings?
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi research remains active: Analysts reiterated a bullish outlook for silver and raised their MongoDB price target, but these calls primarily affect Citi’s research franchise and do not materially change Citigroup’s own earnings outlook. Silver Could Surge to $90, Citi Says

Citigroup Stock Up 1.3%

C stock opened at $137.56 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $234.62 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.34. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.68 and a 52 week high of $147.96. 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 (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.41. Citigroup had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The business had revenue of $24.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. Citigroup’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Citigroup from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Evercore set a $143.00 price target on Citigroup in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.22.

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.