Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Citigroup Call Options (NYSE:C)

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 157,271 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 43% compared to the average volume of 109,869 call options.

Citigroup Stock Performance

NYSE:C opened at $68.13 on Friday. Citigroup has a 52-week low of $44.32 and a 52-week high of $70.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $62.87 and its 200 day moving average is $62.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $128.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.44.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.20. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 4.70%. The business had revenue of $20.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Citigroup will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Citigroup’s payout ratio is currently 64.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

C has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Citigroup from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $75.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 123.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,716,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,005,749,000 after acquiring an additional 17,525,484 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 1st quarter worth approximately $253,286,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 527.5% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,498,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,521,000 after buying an additional 2,100,135 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 7,393.3% in the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 2,015,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,453,000 after buying an additional 1,988,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in Citigroup by 70.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 4,531,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865,628 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Citigroup

Citigroup Inc, a diversified financial service holding company, provides various financial product and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions worldwide. It operates through five segments: Services, Markets, Banking, U.S. Personal Banking, and Wealth. The Services segment includes Treasury and Trade Solutions, which provides cash management, trade, and working capital solutions to multinational corporations, financial institutions, and public sector organizations; and Securities Services, such as cross-border support for clients, local market expertise, post-trade technologies, data solutions, and various securities services solutions.