Citigroup shares close lower on Thursday, Curt Engler appointed as head of Asia Pacific equities business

Citigroup Inc (C) said on Thursday that Curt Engler had been appointed as head of its equities execution services for the Asia Pacific region. Currently, Engler occupies a senior executive position at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in New York, which he joined in 2010.

Citigroup shares closed lower for the fifth time in the past eleven trading sessions in New York on Thursday. It has also been the steepest daily loss since May 31st. The stock went down 2.22% ($1.62) to $71.39, after touching an intraday low at $70.91, or a price level not seen since July 22nd ($70.67).

Shares of Citigroup Inc have risen 37.13% so far in 2019 compared with a 19.82% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2018, Citigroup’s stock went down 30.04%, thus, it underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.

Based in Hong Kong, Curt Engler is expected to report to Julia Raiskin, Citigroups head of investor sales and relationship management, and to Richard Heyes, the groups head of Asia Pacific equities.

Engler is to oversee all execution desks for Citigroups cash equities business in twelve markets across the Asia Pacific area. He will also have responsibilities in customer relationships, technology as well as governance, the bank said.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 25 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Citigroup Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $80.00, with a high estimate of $108.00 and a low estimate of $52.00. The median estimate represents a 12.06% upside compared to the closing price of $71.39 on July 25th.

The same media also reported that at least 20 out of 28 surveyed investment analysts had rated Citigroup Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 3 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.