EP Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 10,946 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 67,481 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,946 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $9,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup in the first quarter worth $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Paladin Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. TD Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on C shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Argus set a $150.00 target price on Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Citigroup from $158.00 to $154.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.22.

Key Stories Impacting Citigroup

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 Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE C opened at $131.46 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.29. Citigroup Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.84 and a 12 month high of $147.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm 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.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.41. Citigroup had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The firm had revenue of $24.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

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

Citigroup 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.