How to Trade Citigroup (NYSE: C) Stock This Week

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Citigroup  stock is currently trading at $45.52 per share. The company has a market capitalization of $132.34 billion, with a price/earnings ratio of 9.64. The average trading volume over the past 3 months is 21,992,314 shares. The stock has produced a dividend & yield of $0.31 (0.68%). The next earnings date is slated for 14 October 2016. Analysts project the 1-year target estimate price of the stock at $54.04 per share. This would place it near the upper end of the 52-week trading range, which is currently $58.84 on the high end and $34.52 on the low end.

If we examine the performance of Citigroup Inc., the earnings and the estimates have been neck and neck, but there have been positive earnings surprises over time. Starting on October 15, 2015, the EPS was $1.31 and the consensus earnings per share forecast was $1.29, leading to a 1.55% earnings surprise. On 15 January 2016, the actual EPS was $1.06 and the consensus earnings per share was $1.04 leading to a 1.92% earnings surprise. On 15 April 2016, the actual EPS was $1.11 and the consensus earnings per share was $1.04 leading to a 6.73% earnings surprise. The big surprise in 2016 came on 15 July when the actual EPS was reported at $1.25 and the consensus earnings per share forecast was $1.09, leading to a 14.68% earnings surprise.

Based on the recommendations of analysts, Citigroup, Inc. is regarded as a strong buy. The majority of analysts recommend buying the stock given its strong fundamentals and upside potential. This information was provided courtesy of Zacks Investment Research, and the analyst firms recommending the strong buy rating include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Buckingham Res, Deutsche Bank, Jefferies & Company, Wells Fargo SEC, Barclay’s Capita, CLSA Americas, Edward Jones and Oppenheimer Holdings. Thomson Reuters analysts are also bullish on the stock. On a rating scale of 1.0 (strong buy) to 5.0 (sell), the stock is rated at 1.9. The price targets for the stock average out at $54.04 per share which is approximately $9.48 higher than the prevailing stock price. Given these recommendations, Citigroup is a buy.

A Buy Rating is Favoured by Analysts for Citigroup Inc. 

The upgrades and downgrades history of the stock paints a mixed picture. The last rating was conducted by investment research firm Berenberg and it regards Citigroup Incorporated as a buy (13 July 2016). Wells Fargo downgraded the stock from an outperform rating to a market perform rating on 8 July, while Keefe Bruyette downgraded the stock from an outperform rating to a market perform rating on 18 April 2016. On Friday, 5 August 2016, Citigroup shares closed higher. This was driven by the rejection of a motion by the federal appeals court against the bank by a Florida billionaire.

Arthur Williams was attempting to reinstate an $800 million lawsuit against Citigroup Inc, but it was summarily dismissed by the judge. The matter pertained to the sale of approximately 17.6 million Citigroup shares in May 2007. However, at the time Citigroup informed its investors that it was doing well and Williams decided to sell just 1 million shares. He sold for $3.09 per share but in May 2007 the share price was $51.59 per share – the difference being the adjusted value of the lawsuit. While the stock has been underperforming of late, it remains a viable investment and analysts across the board are confident that this stock will bounce back strongly.