Citi reiterates 'sell' rating on BT Group

(Sharecast News) - Citi reiterated its 'sell' rating and 140p price target on BT Group on Thursday as it said consumer downgrades should be in focus, not just Openreach line loss. The main metric that investors will likely focus on at the third-quarter results on 5 February will again be Openreach broadband line losses, the bank said.

"As 51% of Openreach revenue is internal, this metric, and Openreach financials, can be supported by BT's downstream divisions, albeit at a cost to them if non-value adding volumes are being pursued," it said.

"While Openreach financials have positively surprised us in recent periods by continuing to grow, Consumer has seen persistent downgrades, accounting for £105m of the group's £131m 2026/27 EBITDA consensus downgrade over the last 12 months, with future EBITDA growth expectations also compressing."

At 1040 GMT, the shares were down 1% at 180.20p.