Citigroup
Citigroup is a major international bank headquartered in New York. Citi Research, part of its Citigroup Global Markets securities business, publishes equity, economic and strategy research worldwide. Euromoney named Citi the world's best bank for research in 2025.
Activity24M
RatingsPrice targetsKey figures
- Stocks covered
- 1,51312M
- Actions
- 4,48012M
- Ratings / Price targets
- 4,479 / 1
- Upgrades / Downgrades
- 215 / 231
- Initiations
- 98
- Buy-rated
- 60%of 1,507 rated
- Median upside
- −0.4%
- Targets raised / lowered
- 1 / 0
- On record
- Feb 2012 – Sep 2026
Overview
Citi Research covered more than 3,700 stocks and the economies of over 60 countries in 2025. That year, more than 65% of its research was accessed digitally, and it used AI tools to help analysts distribute their findings.
Citigroup traces its lineage to the City Bank of New York, chartered in 1812, and was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group, which brought the Salomon Smith Barney securities business. That unit was renamed Citigroup Global Markets in 2003, the year it paid $400 million in the global research analyst settlement. In 2009 Smith Barney's retail brokerage moved into a joint venture with Morgan Stanley. Equity research operates today as Citi Research.
Milestones
- 1812
City Bank of New York chartered
- 1998
Citicorp and Travelers merge to form Citigroup
- 2003
Salomon Smith Barney renamed Citigroup Global Markets
Pays $400 million in global research analyst settlement
- 2011
Citi Research replaces Hold rating with Neutral
- 2025
Named Euromoney's world's best bank for research
Firm facts
- Legal name
- Citigroup Inc.
- Type
- Bulge bracket
- Founded
- 1812
- Headquarters
- New York, United States
- Listing
- NYSE: C
- Chair and Chief Executive Officer
- Jane Fraser
- Rating scale
- BuyNeutralSell12 months
- Also filed as
- CItigroup · Citi
- Website
- citigroup.com
Research philosophy
Research today isn’t about more, it’s about better.
Citi's thematic research covered AI, the climate transition, geopolitics and demographics in 2024. In 2025, its global head of research said the team had become more selective about its coverage, emphasizing themes and findings that could inform investment decisions. The team also used AI tools to help analysts review their findings. Citi's research policy states that investing clients' interests must always come first.
Rating methodology
Stocks are rated Buy (expected total return of at least 15%, or 25% for High Risk stocks), Neutral or Sell (negative expected total return) over 12 months, with an optional High Risk designation; Neutral replaced Hold in 2011. A separate Catalyst Watch system flags shorter-term, event-driven calls alongside the 12-month rating.
Coverage12M
Sectors
Most covered24M
| Stock | Rating | Target |
|---|---|---|
 Salesforce, Inc.CRM | Market Outperform | $164 |
 Seagate Technology Holdings plcSTX | Buy | $130 |
 Western Digital CorporationWDC | Buy | $85 |
 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.AMD | Sell | $200 |
 ArcBest CorporationARCB | Market Outperform | $111 |
 Microsoft CorporationMSFT | Market Outperform | $497 |
 Micron Technology, Inc.MU | Buy | $150 |
 Saia, Inc.SAIA | Buy | $294 |
 Starbucks CorporationSBUX | Neutral | $96 |
 Snowflake Inc.SNOW | Buy | $200 |
Most active analysts
- Paul Lejuez12 notesUAACOSTCOLM
- Jon Tower10 notesCAKESBUXEAT
- Ariel Rosa10 notesCNICSXARCB
- Ronald Josey9 notesMETAFTVCVNA
- Scott Gruber8 notesLBRTBKVBKR
- Keith Horowitz8 notesJPMFITBCFG
Recent actions
| Date | Stock | Rating action | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22 | AYAytu BioPharma, Inc.AYTU | Reiterate | Positive |
| Sep 22 |  Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.KNX | Reiterate | Buy |
| Sep 22 |  SAP SESAP | Reiterate | Buy |
| Sep 22 | SCSCGLY | Reiterate | Buy |
| Sep 22 |  Brinker International, Inc.EAT | Upgrade | Buy |
| Sep 22 |  Popular, Inc.BPOP | Reiterate | Buy |
| Sep 22 |  First Horizon CorporationFHN | Reiterate | Buy |
| Sep 22 | BKBankUnited, Inc.BKU | Reiterate | Sell |
| Sep 22 | KEKeyCorpKEY | Reiterate | Neutral |
| Sep 22 |  U.S. BancorpUSB | Reiterate | Buy |
| Sep 22 | FIFifth Third BancorpFITB | Upgrade | Neutral →Buy |
| Sep 22 | CMCMPGY | Upgrade | Neutral →Buy |