Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Tuesday, April 14.

Analysts expect the company to report quarterly earnings of $2.61 per share. That’s up from $1.96 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Citigroup’s quarterly revenue is $23.44 billion (it reported $21.6 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

Ahead of quarterly earnings, Evercore ISI Group analyst Glenn Schorr, on Monday, maintained Citigroup with an In-Line rating and lowered the price target from $125 to $115, while Goldman Sachs analyst Richard Ramsden maintained the stock with a Buy and raised the price target from $123 to $137.

With the recent buzz around Citigroup, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company’s dividends too. As of now, Citigroup has an annual dividend yield of 1.92%, which is a quarterly dividend amount of 60 cents per share ($2.40 a year).  

So, how can investors exploit its dividend yield to pocket a regular $500 monthly?

To earn $500 per month or $6,000 annually from dividends alone, you would need an investment of approximately $312,300 or around 2,500 shares. For a more modest $100 per month or $1,200 per year, you would need $62,460 or around 500 shares.

To calculate: Divide the desired annual income ($6,000 or $1,200) by the dividend ($2.40 in this case). So, $6,000 / $2.40 = 2,500 ($500 per month), and $1,200 / $2.40 = 500 shares ($100 per month).

Note that dividend yield can change on a rolling basis, as the dividend payment and the stock price both fluctuate over time.

How that works: The dividend yield is computed by dividing the annual dividend payment by the stock’s current price.

For example, if a stock pays an annual dividend of $2 and is currently priced at $50, the dividend yield would be 4% ($2/$50). However, if the stock price increases to $60, the dividend yield drops to 3.33% ($2/$60). Conversely, if the stock price falls to $40, the dividend yield rises to 5% ($2/$40).

Similarly, changes in the dividend payment can impact the yield. If a company increases its dividend, the yield will also increase, provided the stock price stays the same. Conversely, if the dividend payment decreases, so will the yield.

C Price Action: Shares of Citigroup rose 1.2% to close at $124.92 on Thursday.

Photo via Shutterstock