citigroup

Citigroup (C) has long been noted as one of the worst situated banks compared to all the other big names. After sharing 4th quarter numbers and 2010 outlook, there is certainly ambiguity to how investors are taking in the news.

The following are comments compiled by US equity strategist Tobias Levkovich of Citigroup Investment Research. Institutional Investor has named Mr. Levkovich on its list of the nation’s leading analysts both as an equity strategist and as an industry analyst.

In todays world there is no other financial institution that can facilitate and implement the range of services with which Citi provides its clients. Below are ten highlights to keep in mind when analyzing its equity.

-At the end of the second quarter of 2009, the company’s Tier 1 Capital ratio, a key measure of financial strength, was 12.7%, among the highest in the industry.

From Tom Petruno's Money & Company blog in the Los Angeles Times:

Numbers junkies, this report’s for you: The Institute for Policy Studies has published its 16th annual executive compensation survey, this one entitled, "America’s Bailout Barons: Taxpayers, High Finance and the CEO Pay Bubble."

Some speculators finally bailed out of shares of American International Group, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Citigroup on Monday after the wild rallies the stocks have had this month.

Recently Citigroup slapped a price target of $185 and Barclays followed with $180. Year to date PCLN is up 108.36% from a low of 73.65 and is currently trading at an all time high of $153. Where was Citigroup and Barclays when Priceline hit its low in November?

The markets started the week off with a big drop on Monday after the markets had been pushed to their highs of the year on good earnings. The Dow dropped 2% while the S&P fell 2.4% and the Nasdaq, leading the decliners, fell 2.8%. After this slight pull back on Monday however, the markets pulled off four straight days of solid gains to finish the week higher.

According to earnings estimates by Thomson Reuters Citigroup is fairly valued compared to BAC, WFC, and JPM. FY 2010 earnings estimates forward P/E for all 4 banks is between 10.5-12. However, only Citi is assumed to report meager earnings in 2010 (0.27 a share). Pros and cons for July 17, 2Q earnings
PROS:
1) The major plus for upside earnings is the M2M rule suspension

I sold 6 $31 June calls on X company stock and the stock has surged to $39. Is there anything I can do optionwise to keep X shares besides buying back the 6 $31 june calls? Thanks for your help

When General Motors filed for bankruptcy protection this past week, its 83-year tenure as a fixture within the Dow Jones Industrial Average also came to an end. Faced with the abrupt passing of an economic icon, the stock market rallied; a classic case of selling the rumor (fear of the unknown) and buying the news (increased knowledge of the future). This works in the reverse for good news.

Today, President Obama is expected to sign new legislation that will place limits on the fees and interest rates charged to consumers using credit cards (see WSJ article).

Blockbusters focus has shifted to 2010 & Banking sectors recent run-up.

U.S. futures are pointing toward a lower open today following the Easter Holiday,and with many trading desks half manned, it could lead to a light volume trading day. CFDTrading provides news and signals including Market reports which focus on US, Asian, and European Markets plus news on oil and gold, fixed income markets and foreign exchange markets

So, the markets are celebrating today's changes to FASB mark-to-market accounting rules, and rightfully so. I've written enough on this in the past that I'll spare you the litany here.

I do know, however, that if I'm Citigroup (NYSE: C), I feel cheated. Actually, they were flat out robbed by the government.

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