Stephens Inc. AR Sells 11,312 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 91,359 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,312 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $10,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 166.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 12,499 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Citigroup by 20.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 1,669 shares in the last quarter. United Bank bought a new position in Citigroup during the 2nd quarter worth $972,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Citigroup by 3,016.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 26.9% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 15,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 3,238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Citigroup to $149 from $135.50 and reiterated an Overweight rating, signaling confidence in further upside ahead of earnings. Benzinga report on JPMorgan price target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect U.S. bank earnings, including Citigroup (C), to benefit from a surge in sales and trading revenue and solid M&A advisory fees, helped in part by the blockbuster SpaceX IPO. Reuters article on Wall Street bank earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup was highlighted in a broader bullish note on big-bank stocks, with JPMorgan saying investment-banking and trading revenues may exceed prior guidance and lifting targets across the group. Yahoo Finance article on bank stocks rallying ahead of earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup also announced a new expansion in its commodities business by becoming a clearing member of London Precious Metals Clearing Limited, broadening its gold, silver, platinum and palladium settlement services. Business Wire article on Citi precious metals clearing
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple pieces noted that Citigroup (C) is expected to report quarterly earnings on Tuesday, with consensus calling for higher EPS year over year; the report itself is the main near-term catalyst. American Banking News earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup was also mentioned for appointing Citi as depositary bank for Vicore Pharma’s ADR program, a routine fee-generating services win with limited immediate stock impact. Yahoo Finance article on Vicore Pharma ADR appointment

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Citigroup from $135.50 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $147.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Citigroup from $134.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total value of $3,285,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 182,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,919,511.02. The trade was 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 Price Performance

Shares of Citigroup stock traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $142.12. 1,917,165 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,611,587. The stock has a market cap of $242.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.11. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $132.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.17. Citigroup Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.48 and a 12 month high of $147.96.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.43. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The business had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.83 earnings per share for the current year.

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