Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Grows Stock Position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,878 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,087 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $1,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the second quarter worth $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the third quarter valued at $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 184.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 568 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in Citigroup by 69.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citigroup Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:C opened at $81.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $72.71 and a 200 day moving average of $66.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.24 and a 52 week high of $82.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.43.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The firm had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.