Azora Capital LP Buys 289,494 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

Azora Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 56.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 802,268 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 289,494 shares during the quarter. Citigroup makes up approximately 5.9% of Azora Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Azora Capital LP’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $93,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 163,239,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,048,467,000 after buying an additional 4,938,923 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,262,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,797,292,000 after buying an additional 2,871,074 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,252,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,036,712,000 after acquiring an additional 189,548 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,196,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,990,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326,224 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 33,887,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,954,307,000 after purchasing an additional 846,772 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citigroup Stock Up 0.5%

C stock opened at $143.74 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.04. Citigroup Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.26 and a fifty-two week high of $146.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $245.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is 29.74%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase 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 stock is undervalued.

Citigroup News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Trading activity showed unusually strong demand for Citigroup call options, suggesting investors are positioning for further upside in the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup’s May consumer credit data was mixed but not alarming overall: card delinquencies declined, which may support the view that credit quality remains manageable. Article: Citigroup’s Card Delinquencies Decline, Charge-Offs Rise in May
• Positive Sentiment: The stock is still benefiting from recent momentum tied to strong earnings, restructuring progress, AI-related initiatives and share buybacks, which have helped push shares toward multi-year highs. Article: Citigroup Stock at Multi-Year High: Why Investors Should Stay Invested
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a report that Citigroup had recently gone long on a more constructive market view via an economist’s call for Fed rate cuts, but this is more macro commentary than a direct company catalyst. Article: Citi chief US economist defends unpopular Fed rate-cut call
• Negative Sentiment: Two lawsuits tied to a former executive’s allegations over Trump-related client concerns and retaliation could create legal and reputational risk for Citigroup if the claims gain traction. Article: Citigroup faces lawsuit over alleged Trump-linked account issues

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Truist Financial set a $147.00 target price on Citigroup in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citigroup news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the business’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 transaction of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,908.20. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total value of $3,285,250.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Citigroup Company Profile

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.