Citigroup Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:C)

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 145,606 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 32% compared to the average volume of 110,433 call options.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of C traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $42.51. The stock had a trading volume of 16,038,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,367,400. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.03. Citigroup has a fifty-two week low of $40.01 and a fifty-two week high of $53.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.74, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.57.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 14th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.34 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 6.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Citigroup will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 4th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citigroup

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in Citigroup during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Heritage Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Citigroup by 140.1% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Citigroup by 40.3% during the second quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 867 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. 69.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Citigroup from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $50.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Citigroup has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.19.

About Citigroup

Citigroup Inc, a diversified financial services holding company, provides various financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions in North America, Latin America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through three segments: Institutional Clients Group (ICG), Personal Banking and Wealth Management (PBWM), and Legacy Franchises.