Commerce Bank Buys 55,731 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

Commerce Bank raised its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 25.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 272,289 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,731 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $38,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Paladin Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 197.6% during the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 244 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citigroup News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic IPO role could boost fee revenue and deal visibility. Citigroup is reportedly being added to the group of leading banks guiding Anthropic toward a potential initial public offering. A role on a large, prominent AI-company listing could generate underwriting fees and strengthen Citi’s capital-markets franchise. Anthropic adds Citigroup to top banks guiding its IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup received strong growth-oriented stock-market recognition. A recent ranking identified Citigroup and Goldman Sachs among financial giants receiving “buy” growth grades, reinforcing the view that Citi’s earnings and business outlook compare favorably with peers. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs lead as most financial giants earn buy growth grades
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi remains constructive on broader equity markets. The bank maintained an overweight view on equities and said it would use any weakness before the U.S. midterm elections to add exposure. This may support confidence in Citi’s research and client-facing businesses, although it does not directly change the company’s earnings outlook. S&P 500 may pull back before midterms, but Citi says buy the dip
• Negative Sentiment: Credit-quality concerns remain a risk. Citigroup’s July card delinquencies edged higher, although lower charge-offs provided some offsetting relief. Investors may continue monitoring consumer credit trends for signs of pressure on asset quality and loan-loss provisions. C’s July Card Delinquencies Tick Up

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on C shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Evercore set a $143.00 price target on Citigroup in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Citigroup from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Citigroup from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Citigroup from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.22.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of Citigroup stock opened at $131.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market cap of $224.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $137.20 and a 200-day moving average of $126.29. Citigroup Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.84 and a 1-year high of $147.96.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.41. Citigroup had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The business had revenue of $24.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This is a positive change from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is 28.94%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $30.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Citigroup

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.