Citigroup (C) Stock Near 52‑Week High on December 10, 2025: Is the Post‑Rally Bank Still a Buy?

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) continues its impressive 2025 run, with the stock trading around its 52‑week high as Wall Street updates its views on the bank’s transformation, capital actions, and earnings power.

As of the latest session on December 10, 2025, Citi shares change hands at about $110.35, after touching an intraday high of $110.67 and a low of $109.09, on volume of roughly 3.4 million shares.

Different data providers now peg year‑to‑date total returns for C in the mid‑50s to low‑60s percent range. Simply Wall St notes that Citi is up about 54% year to date as of December 5, while TD Cowen highlights “nearly 60%” YTD gains, and Yahoo Finance lists a YTD total return of about 61% as of December 10, 2025. ^[1]

Below is a breakdown of the key news, forecasts, and analyses surrounding Citigroup stock as of December 10, 2025 — and what they could mean for investors watching C at these levels.

Citigroup Stock Today: Price, Momentum and 2025 Performance

Citigroup’s share price is now hovering just below its recent 52‑week high around $110–111, a level TD Cowen points out is only a whisper above the broker’s own $110 price target, and close to the stock’s advertised 52‑week high of $110.25. ^[2]

Recent performance snapshots:

1 week: +5.2%
1 month: +6.7%
Year to date (price): about +54–60% depending on the data source
3 & 5 years: “triple digit” total returns, signaling a dramatic re‑rating compared with Citi’s earlier deep‑value status ^[3]

This run‑up has pushed Citi’s valuation into the mid‑teens on a P/E basis, with MarketBeat citing a P/E around 15.4x and a market capitalization near $196 billion, while Simply Wall St pegs the current P/E near 14.35x — still above the broader U.S. banks average of roughly 11.6x. ^[4]

In other words, Citi is no longer the obvious “deep discount” it once was, but it is also not obviously expensive, especially when compared with consensus earnings forecasts and book value.

Q3 2025 Earnings: Transformation Story Backed by Numbers

Citi’s strong third‑quarter 2025 results are a major pillar of the bullish narrative:

Revenue: $22.1 billion, up 9% year‑over‑year, with growth across all five of Citi’s operating businesses
Net income: $3.8 billion vs. $3.2 billion a year earlier
EPS: $1.86 (reported)
Adjusted EPS (ex‑goodwill impairment from Banamex): $2.24
Reported RoTCE: 8.0%; adjusted RoTCE: 9.7%
CET1 ratio: a robust 13.2%, more than 100 bps above regulatory requirements ^[5]

Segment trends, per earnings analysis:

Services: Revenue up ~7%, with strong growth in transaction services and securities services and AUC/A approaching $30 trillion.
Markets: Revenue up ~15% on strength in both fixed income and equities, with prime balances up more than 40%.
Banking: Investment banking fees up mid‑teens, confirming a rebound in deal activity.
Wealth: Revenue up 8% with record net new investment assets of $18.6 billion.
U.S. Personal Banking: Record quarterly revenue of $5.3 billion, delivering double‑digit RoTCE and 12 straight quarters of positive operating leverage. ^[6]

Management has leaned into capital returns:

Over $6 billion returned to common shareholders in Q3 alone, including $5 billion in share repurchases (about $1 billion more than previously guided).
Year‑to‑date repurchases reached $8.75 billion as part of a $20 billion buyback plan. ^[7]

For 2025, Citi says it is confident in exceeding $84 billion in revenue and guiding NII ex‑markets up ~5.5% for the full year. The bank is targeting RoTCE of 10–11% in 2026, with a longer‑term goal to move above that range as transformation and technology investments pay off. ^[8]

Fresh CFO Commentary: Investment Banking Tailwinds and Transformation Progress

At the Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference this week, outgoing CFO Mark Mason signaled a strong finish to the year on the investment banking side:

Citi expects investment banking fees to rise in the “mid‑20s” percent year‑over‑year in Q4, driven largely by revived M&A activity and open capital markets.
Markets revenue, by contrast, is expected to be down low‑ to mid‑single digits vs. the prior year. ^[9]

Mason also reiterated that Citi is two‑thirds of the way through its multiyear transformation program, which has focused on:

Removing management layers and simplifying the organization
Cutting costs and restructuring underperforming units
Upgrading compliance and risk controls as required by U.S. regulators under consent orders ^[10]

Incoming CFO Gonzalo Luchetti, currently head of U.S. Personal Banking, emphasized the resilience of U.S. consumer spending through October and November and backed Citi’s targeted 10–11% RoTCE in the next couple of years. ^[11]

From a macro standpoint, Mason described the global economy as “generally resilient”, though he expects growth to ease into 2026 and noted that ongoing regulatory discussions could ultimately lower capital requirements for big banks — a potential tailwind for returns. ^[12]

Capital Structure Moves: Series W Redemption and New Series HH Preferred

Citigroup has made several important capital actions that matter for equity investors.

Full redemption of Series W preferred stock

On December 10, 2025, Citi is fully redeeming all $1.5 billion of its 4.000% Fixed Rate Reset Noncumulative Preferred Stock, Series W, including the associated depositary shares. Key details: ^[13]

Redemption price: $1,000 per Depositary Share, equal to the liquidation preference.
Holders of record on November 26 receive a final $10.00 quarterly dividend per Depositary Share payable on the redemption date.
After redemption, the Series W depositary shares will no longer be outstanding, and dividends will cease to accrue.

New $2.5 billion Series HH preferred offering

At the same time, Citi has issued 2.5 million depositary shares, each representing a 1/25 interest in a share of 6.625% fixed‑rate reset noncumulative perpetual preferred stock, Series HH, with a $25,000 liquidation preference per share (effectively $1,000 per depositary share). ^[14]

The $2.5 billion offering priced on December 3, 2025 and is scheduled to close on December 10, 2025. ^[15]

Together, the Series W redemption and Series HH issuance reflect Citi’s ongoing efforts to fine‑tune its capital stack, balancing regulatory capital needs, funding costs, and shareholder distributions.

Institutional Buying: Azora and Others Add to Citi

Fresh 13F filings show that institutional investors continue to accumulate Citi shares:

Azora Capital LP disclosed a new stake of 611,985 shares in Citi during Q2, valued at approximately $52.1 million. Citi now represents about 2.4% of Azora’s portfolio and is its 18th‑largest holding. ^[16]
A MarketBeat instant alert also reports that Soviero Asset Management LP initiated a roughly $4.9 million position in Citi, underscoring renewed hedge‑fund interest. ^[17]

The Azora article further notes that Citi:

Beat Q3 expectations with EPS of $2.24 vs. $1.89 consensus and revenue of $22.09B
Recently paid a $0.60 quarterly dividend, or $2.40 annualized, implying a dividend yield around 2.2% at current prices
Trades on a P/E of ~15.4x with a market cap near $196 billion and carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target around $108.70 ^[18]

In addition, several smaller wealth‑management firms have modestly increased their positions, suggesting broad‑based institutional participation in the 2025 rally. ^[19]

Analyst Ratings and Price Targets: Moderate Upside or Fully Priced?

Street consensus

According to MarketBeat, 18 Wall Street analysts who have rated Citi in the last 12 months currently assign a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, split between 11 Buy and 7 Hold recommendations, with no Sells. ^[20]

Average 12‑month price target:$109.23, implying about 1% downside from a reference price of $110.47.
Target range:$75.50 (low) to $134.00 (high). ^[21]

ValueInvesting.io, which aggregates a slightly broader analyst set, shows a “Buy” consensus across 29 analysts, with 0 Sell, 6 Hold, 16 Buy and 7 Strong Buy ratings and robust EPS growth forecasts (EPS rising from 7.75 to 10.18 over the next year). ^[22]

Fresh broker commentary from December 10, 2025

New research published today refines that picture:

TD Cowen reiterated a Hold rating and $110 price target, noting that Citi’s transformation “appears to be turning a corner” and that the stock has gained about 42% in the last six months and nearly 60% year to date. The firm highlighted management’s increasing confidence in reaching 10–11% RoTCE by 2026, but also flagged uncertainties related to the long‑term impact of stablecoin adoption on large banks. ^[23]
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) reiterated an Outperform rating with a $118 price target, framing Citi as a beneficiary of successful simplification and capital return.
UBS maintained a Neutral rating and $108 target, pointing to execution risk around the CFO transition and the multi‑year transformation. ^[24]

Taken together, Wall Street sees only modest price upside from here on a one‑year view, but generally expects earnings and capital returns to improve, which could justify higher multiples if Citi meets (or beats) its profitability goals.

Valuation Deep Dives: Is Citi Still Cheap After the Rally?

While the stock has re‑rated sharply, some fundamental models still see upside from current levels.

Simply Wall St’s fair‑value and P/E work

A detailed valuation piece published on December 5, 2025 highlights that: ^[25]

Citi’s book value per share is estimated at about $108.41, meaning the stock trades just above book.
Their Excess Returns model — which compares expected returns on equity vs. cost of equity — yields an intrinsic value near $129.16 per share, roughly 16.5% above the then‑current price, implying Citi may still be undervalued.
The stock trades on a P/E of about 14.35x, above the U.S. banks average (~11.65x) and peer group (~13.13x), but still below their “fair” P/E of 16.79x. On that basis, they again conclude Citi looks modestly undervalued.

At the same time, Simply Wall St notes that Citigroup only scores 2 out of 6 on their broader valuation checklist, reflecting other red flags and the fact that at least some of the restructuring story is now priced in.

Street‑level forecasts and fundamentals

ValueInvesting.io’s aggregated forecasts suggest: ^[26]

Revenue is expected to stabilize and grow modestly after prior divestiture‑driven declines (with revenue “this year” around $87.9B and $90.6B next year).
EPS is projected to grow from about $7.75 to $10.18, implying strong earnings leverage from cost cuts, normalization in credit costs, and ongoing buybacks.

Combined with Citi’s own guidance for 10–11% RoTCE, these forecasts help justify a mid‑teens earnings multiple if management executes.

Strategy, Regulation and Digital Ambitions

Beyond the headline numbers, several strategic and regulatory currents are shaping the Citi story:

Citi has exited or is exiting non‑core international consumer operations, sharpening its focus on higher‑return businesses and reducing complexity. ^[27]
The bank recently filed its 2025 resolution plan with the Federal Reserve and FDIC, detailing enhancements to capital, liquidity, governance and data systems aimed at ensuring it can be resolved without taxpayer support in a crisis. ^[28]
Q3 commentary emphasized tokenized deposits, 24/7 clearing, and AI‑driven process automation as key growth and efficiency levers, alongside a partnership with BlackRock and a planned Investor Day in May 2026 to update longer‑term targets. ^[29]

Analysts are increasingly framing Citi as a “modernizing global network bank” rather than just a restructuring story — but they also stress that large‑scale tech and data projects bring execution, cyber and regulatory risks.

Key Risks to Watch

Even bullish analysts acknowledge several important risks:

Macro & credit risk: A sharper‑than‑expected slowdown or spike in unemployment could pressure credit quality across cards, emerging markets and corporate lending. ^[30]
Regulatory & capital risk: While Citi is currently well capitalized, regulatory views on capital, stress testing and digital assets could shift, especially as stablecoins and tokenized money markets evolve. TD Cowen explicitly flags the “longer‑term impacts” of stablecoin adoption as a risk factor. ^[31]
Execution risk: Delivering on transformation targets, AI and digital initiatives, and the CFO transition will be crucial to hitting that 10–11% RoTCE and justifying premium valuations. ^[32]
Valuation risk: After a 50–60%+ YTD move, even modest disappointments on earnings, credit or capital returns could trigger volatility, particularly if the broader market rotates away from financials.

Bottom Line: Is Citigroup Stock a Buy After Its 2025 Rally?

On December 10, 2025, Citigroup sits at an interesting crossroads:

The stock is near a 52‑week high around $110 per share and trades at roughly 1x book and a mid‑teens P/E. ^[33]
Near‑term analyst price targets suggest only limited upside over the next 12 months (consensus around $109–110), but fundamental models from Simply Wall St and others see mid‑teens percentage upside based on intrinsic value estimates in the high‑$120s. ^[34]
The earnings, capital return and RoTCE trajectory has clearly improved, backed by strong Q3 results and a credible path to double‑digit returns. ^[35]

For long‑term investors comfortable with bank‑sector and regulatory risk, Citi still offers:

A solid dividend yield around 2–2.5%,
A large ongoing buyback program, and
Potential earnings and valuation upside if management delivers on its 2026 targets.

For more cautious or shorter‑term traders, the combination of limited consensus upside and an already‑big 2025 rally may argue for waiting for a pullback or clearer evidence that RoTCE can sustainably move above 11%.

Either way, Citigroup has firmly transitioned from deep value laggard to actively debated global bank growth and transformation story — and today’s news flow underscores just how closely investors and regulators will be watching its next moves.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation, or a solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Always do your own research or consult a licensed financial adviser.