Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. $C

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. reduced its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 27.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 933,085 shares of the company’s stock after selling 358,819 shares during the quarter. Citigroup comprises approximately 2.3% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $130,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Citigroup in the first quarter worth $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Paladin Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the second quarter valued at $27,000. TD Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 197.6% in the 1st quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 244 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

C has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Citigroup from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Citigroup from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $135.50 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citigroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.22.

Citigroup Trading Up 1.4%

Citigroup stock opened at $131.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $92.84 and a one year high of $147.96. The stock has a market capitalization 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $137.20 and its 200 day moving average is $126.29.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.41. Citigroup had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 10.23%.The company had revenue of $24.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. Citigroup’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.2 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $30.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This is a boost from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.94%.

More Citigroup News

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

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.