Encore Global Management LP Invests $1.56 Million in Citigroup Inc. $C

Encore Global Management LP bought a new stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 13,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,559,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Citigroup by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 375,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,873,000 after buying an additional 16,744 shares during the last quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,165,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in Citigroup by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,306,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,496,000 after acquiring an additional 365,041 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 166.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 12,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 96,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,255,000 after purchasing an additional 13,046 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Oppenheimer lowered Citigroup from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Citigroup from $134.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.67.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup launched Citi Consolidate, an invoice-processing and payables solution integrated with Infor Nexus. The platform digitizes purchase orders, invoice approvals and payments for corporate clients, potentially strengthening Citi’s transaction-banking relationships and adding recurring fee revenue. Citi Is Now Live With a Trade Digitization Solution Integrating Supply Chain Solutions
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street strategists identified large banks, including Citigroup, as overlooked beneficiaries of the AI investment cycle. Banks could gain from financing data-center construction, managing payments and providing capital-markets services, broadening Citi’s exposure beyond traditional lending. Wall Street Banks Eyed as Overlooked Beneficiaries of AI Trade
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains supportive after Citi’s strong second-quarter performance. The bank’s record results, transformation plan and shareholder-return prospects are being cited as reasons the stock may still offer upside despite its recent rerating. Is Citigroup Stock Still a Buy After Its Blockbuster Q2 Performance?
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup expects the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates at its upcoming meeting, while assigning a 33% probability to a hike. A stable-rate outlook could support net interest income, but the possibility of tighter policy keeps investors focused on inflation and credit conditions. Citigroup Expects Fed to Maintain Rates Amid 33% Hike Probability
• Negative Sentiment: Broader concerns that massive AI spending may prove unsustainable represent a risk to banks positioned to finance the buildout. A pullback in AI investment could reduce loan demand, deal activity and market sentiment toward financial stocks. Singapore’s MAS Flags AI Pullback as Threat to Global Markets

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citigroup news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Citigroup Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of C opened at $132.53 on Wednesday. Citigroup Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.94 and a 12 month high of $147.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $135.48 and its 200-day moving average is $123.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $24.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.74 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.2 EPS for the current year.

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 paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a boost from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is 25.92%.

Citigroup declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.