MKP Capital Management L.L.C. Takes $40.84 Million Position in Citigroup Inc. $C

MKP Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,842,000. Citigroup accounts for about 1.5% of MKP Capital Management L.L.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,141,000. COFG Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth about $258,000. Sage Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth about $609,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 84,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,898,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Ellevest Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth about $225,000. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup could win a role in OpenAI’s IPO preparations, a marquee mandate that would support future fee income and showcase the bank’s investment banking reach. OpenAI reportedly in talks to add Citigroup and JPMorgan to its IPO underwriting team
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary says Citigroup has outperformed the Dow over the past year, while analysts remain cautiously optimistic, reinforcing a constructive near-term view on the stock. Is Citigroup Stock Outperforming the Dow?
• Positive Sentiment: Citi turned more bullish on copper, raising its price outlook sharply; that call may be viewed as supportive for Citi’s broader markets and commodities franchise, and for sentiment around the bank’s research influence. Citi turns bullish on copper, sees price hitting $15,000 per ton within a year
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup forecast that the tokenized securities market could reach $5.5 trillion underscores its interest in digital assets and market infrastructure, but the near-term stock impact is unclear. Citigroup Forecasts Tokenized Securities Market Will Hit $5.5 Trillion
• Neutral Sentiment: News that Citi is working with Fannie Mae on a reperforming-loan sale is a routine capital markets-related item and does not appear to materially change the earnings outlook on its own. Is Fannie Mae’s Latest Reperforming Loan Sale With Citigroup Quietly Reshaping FNMA’s Risk Profile?

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In other news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total transaction of $3,285,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 182,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $265,260.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,908.20. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Citigroup Stock Performance

NYSE C opened at $128.86 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $219.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.12. Citigroup Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.30 and a 12-month high of $135.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $123.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.99.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore set a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Citigroup from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.62.

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.