Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was downgraded by research analysts at Vetr from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $45.69 target price on the financial services provider's stock. Vetr's target price points to a potential downside of 3.01% from the stock's current price.
Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Drexel Hamilton reissued a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Monday, July 18th. TheStreet raised shares of Citigroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 23rd. Nomura reissued a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Monday, July 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Tuesday, August 16th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group AG reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Saturday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. The stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $55.46.
In other news, insider Joseph Michael Murray sold 8,122 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.35, for a total transaction of $360,210.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 35,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,554,112.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.
Shares of Citigroup (NYSE:C) opened at 47.11 on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $44.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.43. Citigroup has a one year low of $34.52 and a one year high of $56.46. The firm has a market cap of $136.87 billion and a PE ratio of 9.97.
Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters' consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. The company earned $17.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.47 billion. Citigroup's quarterly revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Citigroup will post $4.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 28th. This is a boost from Citigroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05.
A number of hedge funds and institutional investors have bought and sold shares of C. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Citigroup by 2.1% in the first quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,126,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $589,847,000 after buying an additional 289,283 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd acquired a new position in Citigroup during the first quarter valued at about $181,532,000. Samlyn Capital LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup during the first quarter valued at about $39,195,000. Eachwin Capital LP acquired a new position in Citigroup during the first quarter valued at about $384,000. Finally, Sii Investments Inc. WI raised its position in Citigroup by 15.5% in the first quarter. Sii Investments Inc. WI now owns 9,543 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares during the period.
Citigroup Inc (Citi) is a financial services holding company. The Company's businesses provide consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, trade and securities services and wealth management.