Citigroup Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:C)

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 64,187 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 26% compared to the average volume of 51,097 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $148.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Citigroup from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Citigroup from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Citigroup from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Citigroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.79.

More Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup exceeded third-quarter expectations, reporting approximately $2.85 in earnings per share and $23.85 billion in revenue. Revenue increased about 8% year over year, while net income rose sharply, helped by growth in Services, investment banking and wealth management. JPMorgan vs. Citigroup: Which Stock Has the Edge After Q3 Results?
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its 2026 profitability target to more than 11%, citing strong Services growth, AI-related efficiency gains and disciplined capital deployment. CEO Jane Fraser also highlighted the bank’s highest third-quarter revenue in a decade and increased focus on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Citigroup Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Higher Return Outlook and AI Gains
• Positive Sentiment: The planned separation and potential early-2027 IPO of Banamex could provide a catalyst by monetizing Citigroup’s former Mexican consumer-banking business and simplifying the company’s structure. Banamex leadership pitches turnaround ahead of targeted Citi IPO
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi is promoting tokenized assets and digital-asset infrastructure as long-term growth opportunities, projecting tokenized assets could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030 and naming Circle Internet Group and Bullish as favored digital-asset exposures. These initiatives may create future fee opportunities but remain developing businesses. Citigroup projects tokenized assets could reach $5.5T by 2030
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat and dividend increase, investors questioned the sustainability of trading gains and a softer near-term cost outlook. Several analysts lowered price targets, including RBC, which reduced its target to $135 while retaining an Outperform rating. Citi Stock Falls Despite Earnings Beat: What Investors Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup expects the Federal Reserve to raise rates in December after hotter inflation, with rate cuts potentially delayed until mid-2027. Higher borrowing costs, interest-income pressure and broader economic uncertainty could limit loan demand and earnings growth. Global Market: Citi expects Fed to raise rates by 25 basis points in December

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Citigroup by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 80,956,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,199,986,000 after purchasing an additional 2,913,701 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Citigroup in the second quarter worth about $3,244,602,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Citigroup by 2.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 26,869,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,047,215,000 after purchasing an additional 728,043 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Citigroup by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,139,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,766,617,000 after purchasing an additional 887,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 10.7% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,467,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,745,001,000 after buying an additional 1,210,006 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citigroup Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of C opened at $123.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $210.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average of $132.95 and a 200 day moving average of $131.82. Citigroup has a 52-week low of $95.00 and a 52-week high of $147.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 13th. The company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.19. Citigroup had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The company had revenue of $23.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.86 earnings per share. Citigroup’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Citigroup will post 11.24 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $0.67 dividend. This is a boost from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

About Citigroup

Citigroup Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in New York City and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol C. Through its subsidiaries and businesses, Citi provides banking, lending, investment, payments, wealth management and other financial services to consumers, businesses, governments and institutional clients.

Citi’s principal businesses include Services, which supports institutional clients with treasury, trade, securities services and related solutions; Markets, which provides sales, trading, research and financing services; Banking, which offers investment banking and corporate banking; and Wealth, which provides private banking and wealth management.