Citigroup - C

"Citigroup is organized into four major business groups: Global Consumer; Markets and Banking (M&B); GlobalWealth Management; and Alternative Investments. The Citigroup Global Consumer business includes banking services, credit cards, loans and insurance. The M&B business is in about 100 countries and advises companies, governments, and institutional investors on the best way to realize their strategic objectives. The GlobalWealth Management division at Citigroup is comprised of The Citigroup Private Bank, Smith Barney (private wealth management), and Citigroup Investment Research,and serves both private and institutional clients.”

Here are my reasons for averaging down:
-As a general rule I’ve found that the best time to buy large multinational blue chips is when everyone else hates them.
-Currently 45% of their revenue is generated outside of the United States and their current focus is to increase this number to 60%.
-They have the world’s largest credit card operation.
-In my opinion they are extremely well positioned to expand their international operations.
-Management is aggressively working to rebuild their capital base.
-The potential exists to unlock some value if Citi is broken up into separate entities.
-I believe long term this franchise will be a survivor

PE – 34.3
Estimated 2007 PE – 8.9X
Estimated 2008 PE – 6.8X
Current dividend yield – 5.13%
Price/Book – 1.1X

Other Facts:
-S&P recently downgraded them from 5 stars (strong buy ) to 3 stars (hold). However, they have a 12 month $35 price target
-Argus recently reduced their 1 year target price to $35 from $55 but are maintaining a buy rating.

Calculated Fair Value:
I’ve calculated the fail value of C (based on current information) to be approximately $32.81. My estimate is a little more conservative than both S&P and Argus however, from it’s current price there is a 31% upside.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I initiated a half position in C last November and a bought another quarter position last week. I will continue to watch the developments on this name and am not opposed to initiating another quarter position in the future.

(Disclaimer: I currently own shares of C. However,I’m not your boss or your spouse so do you own research and make your opinions on when to buy or sell. Nothing I say should be bastardized or construed in any way to be advice.)

Citigroup – C

I'm currently travelling so this post will be short.

Last Friday I added about a quarter position to my Citigroup holding. I continue to like Citi for the same reasons as I did when I originally initiated a position in November. Tomorrow I’ll provide a full analysis of C as well as the new fair price that I’ve calculated.

Citi Group – C

I initiated a half position in C on Monday and plan on holding this name indefinitely.

“Citigroup is organized into four major business groups: Global Consumer; Markets and Banking (M&B); GlobalWealth Management; and Alternative Investments. The Citigroup Global Consumer business includes banking services, credit cards, loans and insurance. The M&B business is in about 100 countries and advises companies, governments, and institutional investors on the best way to realize their strategic objectives. The GlobalWealth Management division at Citigroup is comprised of The Citigroup Private Bank, Smith Barney (private wealth management), and Citigroup Investment Research,and serves both private and institutional clients.”

Here are my reasons for buying:
-As a general rule I’ve found that the best time to buy large multinational blue chips is when everyone else hates them.
-S&P credit rating = AA (second highest rating)
-Moodys credit rating = Aa1 (second highest rating – very little credit risk)
-Currently 45% of their revenue is generated outside of the United States and their current focus is to increase this number to 60%.
-They have the world’s largest credit card operation.
-In my opinion they are extremely well positioned to expand their international operations.

PE – 8.7X
Estimated 2007 PE – 9.7X
Estimated 2008 PE – 7.7X
Current dividend yield – 6%
5 year avg. dividend yield – 2.9%
5 year avg. dividend growth – 24.1%
3 year avg. dividend growth – 9.26%
Payout ratio – 47%
ROE – 17.9
Price/Book – 1.4X

Other Facts:
-S&P recently downgraded them from 5 stars (strong buy ) to 3 stars (hold). However, they have a 12 month $45 price target and rate them a low risk investment. From my purchase price this represents a total one year return of 26% (20% capital gains + 6% dividend). If I was an analyst I would find it hard to rate a company that I believed would return 26% in 12months with limited risk a hold…
-Argus recently reduced their 1 year target price to $55 from $60 but are maintaining a buy rating.

As I mentioned above I’ve initiated a half position in C and am going to take a wait and see approach from here. However, if the stock declines significantly from here I will be doubling down.

(Disclaimer: I’m not your boss or your spouse so do you own research and make your opinions on when to buy or sell. Nothing I say should be bastardized or construed in any way to be advice.)