Citigroup shares close lower on Wednesday, Loretta Ko appointed as head of financial institutions group in Hong Kong

Citigroup Inc (C) announced on Wednesday that Loretta Ko had been appointed as head of its financial institutions group for Hong Kong.

Citigroup shares closed lower for the seventh time in the past ten trading sessions in New York on Wednesday. The stock went down 8.64% ($4.80) to $50.78, after touching an intraday low at $50.02, or a price level not seen since December 27th 2018 ($49.70).

Shares of Citigroup Inc have retreated 36.44% so far in 2020 compared with a 15.15% loss for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2019, Citigroup Inc’s stock went up 53.46%, thus, it outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 28.88% gain.

Most recently, Loretta Ko worked at Banco Santander, where she was in the same role that she is to assume at Citigroup Inc. Prior to that, Ko worked at ANZ and Standard Chartered in Hong Kong.

According to Ko’s Linkedin profile, she was employed with Citigroup between 1989 and 2004.

“Hong Kong financial institutions (group) is a significant and growing part of Corporate Banking in the country as well as a critical contributor to the broader Asia Pacific financial institutions franchise,” Citi said in a memo to employees, cited by Reuters.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 22 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Citigroup Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $90.00, with a high estimate of $122.00 and a low estimate of $56.00. The median estimate represents a 77.24% upside compared to the closing price of $50.78 on March 11th.

The same media also reported that at least 17 out of 25 surveyed investment analysts had rated Citigroup Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 4 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.