Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) Upgraded to Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Citigroup currently has $55.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $44.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Truist Financial from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Truist Financial from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Truist Financial from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Argus set a $43.00 price objective on Truist Financial in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut Truist Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.44.

Truist Financial Trading Up 2.8%

NYSE:TFC opened at $42.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $55.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.01. Truist Financial has a 12-month low of $33.56 and a 12-month high of $49.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The insurance provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. Truist Financial had a return on equity of 8.96% and a net margin of 15.59%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Truist Financial will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Truist Financial’s payout ratio is currently 61.36%.

Institutional Trading of Truist Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Truist Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Truist Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Truist Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Centennial Bank AR raised its stake in Truist Financial by 360.2% during the 1st quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 741 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motco raised its stake in Truist Financial by 435.6% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 798 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. 71.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Truist Financial Company Profile

Truist Financial Corporation, a financial services company, provides banking and trust services in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer Banking and Wealth, Corporate and Commercial Banking, and Insurance Holdings.Its deposit products include noninterest-bearing checking, interest-bearing checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts.