Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Citigroup (NYSE:C)

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 108,979 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 34% compared to the typical daily volume of 81,497 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on C. Piper Sandler set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $107.00 to $124.00 in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Citigroup from $118.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.65.

Citigroup Stock Performance

C stock traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $118.21. 17,152,033 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,202,637. Citigroup has a 1-year low of $55.51 and a 1-year high of $124.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.07. The firm has a market cap of $211.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.18.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.16. Citigroup had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The business had revenue of $19.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Citigroup will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Trending Headlines about Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat and dealmaking strength — Citi reported $1.81 EPS vs. $1.65 expected and management highlighted a rebound in investment banking and corporate client fees, which supports earnings momentum and valuation re-ratings. Citigroup profit beats estimates as dealmaking rebounds
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and price-target lifts — Several firms refreshed views after the quarter (Wolfe Research cited constructive subsector outlook; RBC reaffirmed an outperform). That analyst activity can provide near-term buy-side support. Wolfe Research Raises Citigroup PT RBC Reaffirms Outperform (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity — Large call buying was observed (≈108,979 calls, ~34% above average). That’s a bullish short-term signal but could reflect hedging or speculative flow rather than firm fundamental conviction.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss and one‑time Russia loss — Revenue missed Street estimates and reported profit was pulled down by a Russia‑unit sale; the WSJ noted the profit drop tied to that divestiture, which tempers the headline EPS beat. Citigroup’s Fourth Quarter Profit Drops After Russia Sale (WSJ)
• Negative Sentiment: Cost cuts and restructuring risk — CEO Jane Fraser signaled more job cuts and the firm is executing layoffs (1,000 announced this week; a broader plan targets many more), which could weigh on near‑term morale, execution risk and transition costs. Citigroup CEO Signals More Job Cuts (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: Credit-card exposure and regulatory/sector headwinds — Commentaries flagged Citi’s consumer/credit-card exposures as a vulnerability and the broader bank sector saw selling after earnings amid valuation scrutiny and political talk of credit-rate caps, creating an ongoing overhang. Record earnings overshadowed by credit-card exposure (TipRanks) Bank Stocks Get Punished After Earnings (MarketBeat)

Institutional Trading of Citigroup

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in C. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Citigroup by 166.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 12,499 shares during the period. Balefire LLC lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 40.6% during the second quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 7,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the second quarter valued at about $280,000. Sunpointe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the second quarter worth about $251,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,669 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.