Citigroup Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:C)

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 178,445 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 50% compared to the average daily volume of 118,812 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citigroup

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Citigroup in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Citigroup by 184.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 69.3% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citigroup Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of C stock opened at $78.51 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.43. Citigroup has a fifty-two week low of $50.51 and a fifty-two week high of $79.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 6.19%. The company had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Citigroup will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.93%.

Citigroup announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on C shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays raised shares of Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.93.

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.