Recent Event Highlights: Higher August Charge-offs Blot Citi - Wall Street Pit, Citigroup Inc. Chops PT on Research In Motion Ltd. (C,RIMM) - Comtex Smartrend, Citi Subsidiary The Student Loan Corporation Sells Securitized FFELP Assets to ... - MarketWatch (press release), RIMM's Reports From Citi, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank & RJ Insight - Benzinga, Commerzbank Said to Name UBS, Citi Advisers to Gauge Interest of Investors - Bloomberg, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. Announces Pricing of Common Stock ... - MarketWatch (press release), and 151 more...
Created by dipity on Apr 17, 2009
Last updated: 01/04/11 at 12:24 PM
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Higher August Charge-offs Blot CitiWall Street PitWhile the improvement in credit card delinquencies is encouraging, the concern now seems with the weak demand for new loans, which results from the serious ...Citibank posts big increase in credit card charge-offs for August; delinquency ...Washington Examinerall 12 news articles »
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ReutersCitigroup Inc. Chops PT on Research In Motion Ltd. (C,RIMM)Comtex SmartrendAnalyst Jim Suva said that the shares are likely to see some short-term strength on the quarterly results announced yesterday, the company's guidance and ...Barchart US Morning CallInside Futuresall 428 news articles »
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Seer PressCiti Subsidiary The Student Loan Corporation Sells Securitized FFELP Assets to ...MarketWatch (press release)For more information about these factors and other factors that may affect Citi's future results, see Citi's periodic reports filed with the US Securities ...Business HighlightsThe Associated PressDiscover Agrees to Buy Citigroup's Student Loan Corp.BusinessWeekSpirit Airlines to pay down debt with public offeringDetroit Free Pressall 526 news articles »
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RIMM's Reports From Citi, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank & RJ InsightBenzingaResearch In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) reported F2Q2011 results yesterday, with revenues reported at $4.6B and EPS at $1.46 vs. consensus estimates of ...
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Commerzbank Said to Name UBS, Citi Advisers to Gauge Interest of InvestorsBloombergThe company posted net income of 1.06 billion euros in the six months through June, helped by a rebound in its trading results and a drop in provisions for ...and more »
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Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. Announces Pricing of Common Stock ...MarketWatch (press release)JP Morgan Securities LLC Citigroup Global Markets Inc. c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions Attn: Prospectus Department 1155 Long Island Avenue Brooklyn Army ...and more »
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Citi says credit card delinquencies fallReutersThe bank also reversed the accounting restatements it made in July for results on credit card loans packaged into bonds and sold to investors. ...
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Weak movements as economic concern remainsFashionUnited IndiaCitigroup has reiterated a Buy rating on Nike, last issued on Wednesday, according to a research note. "We continue to believe that Nike has attractive ...and more »
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OpenTable: Pros Have Reservations After 147 Percent JumpBusinessWeekCitigroup (C) analyst Mark Mahaney estimates the company has more than a 90 percent market share in the US online restaurant reservation business. ...and more »
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More Mergers Advisers Head for Exits at UBSWall Street JournalThat the bankers are leaving for Citigroup, which suffered more than its fair share of fallout from the crisis and itself has lost some talent, ...and more »
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Trading Update for Citigroup (C)Market IntellisearchNeither Market Intellisearch nor its affiliates are responsible for any errors or for results obtained from the use of this information. ...
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newsFuzion (blog)Citigroup, Inc (NYSE: C) to Release Q3 Earnings on October 18th.American Banking NewsCitigroup, Inc (NYSE: C) plans to release its third-quarter earnings results in a press release before the market opens on Monday, October 18 th . ...Citigroup (C) Shares Set to Outperform As Latest Treasury Stock Sale Nears an EndStreetInsider.com (subscription) (blog)all 7 news articles »
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Citigroup Inc. Initiates Ingersoll-Rand PLC with a Sell; $33 PT (C,IR)TMCnetTo get a free trial of our trading calls and maximize your trading results, please visit http://www.TradeTheTrend.com Get exclusive, actionable insight into ...
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Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know NewsSeeking Alpha (blog)Suit against Citi finds solid ground. Terra Firma scored an initial victory as a US judge ruled its lawsuit against Citigroup (C) over EMI Group will go to ...and more »
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Story Stocks: Citigroup (NYSE:C), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Kroger (NYSE:KR ...Jutia GroupResults were also boosted by profit from Best Buy's standalone mobile stores and lower promotional and loyalty program costs. They handily beat expectations ...and more »
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SEC Defends $75 Million Subprime Settlement With CitigroupCorporate CounselThe misstatements, it argued, were the "result of a lack of reasonable care by Citigroup executives and a deeply flawed disclosure process. ...and more »
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Citi Third Quarter 2010 Earnings ReviewMarketWatch (press release)NEW YORK, Sep 13, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Citigroup will issue its third quarter results via press release at approximately 8:00 AM (EDT) on Monday, ...and more »
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After yesterday's somewhat disappointing Q2 earnings report from Dell (NASDAQ:DELL), Citigroup is reiterating its "Buy" rating on DELL shares but lower their price target from $19 to $16. Citi believes that the Q2 results confirm that PC demand is resilient within the company's core enterprise market despite a weak consumer. Citi also acknowledged the weakness in the gross margins, but said that they "believe component prices have finally started to roll over, and could become a margin tailwind in 2H." SmarTrend currently has Dell in a Downtrend. Since 2008, SmarTrend subscribers trading Dell using our alerts outperformed the stock by 114%. We are monitoring these developments and will alert subscribers to any change in trend.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) lifted its target price on shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) Wednesday from $10 to $14, and raised 2010, 2011 and 2012 EPS estimates to $1.75, $1.63 and $1.69, respectively. The previous EPS estimates were $1.25 for 2010, $1.29 for 2011 and $1.39 for 2012. Citigroup's Itay Michaeli wrote, "We are maintaining a Hold rating on Ford shares following strong Q2 results, which revealed a number of incremental company & industry positives surrounding profitability." SmarTrend is bullish on shares of Ford Motor andour subscribers were alerted to buy on July 14, 2010 at $11.73; the stock has risen 10.5% since the alert was issued. Ford Motor is currently above its 50-day moving average (MA) of $11.34 and above its 200-day of $11.00. In the last five trading sessions, the 50-day MA has remained constant while the 200-day MA has risen 1.24%. Shares of the automaker are trading down 0.46% Wednesday afternoon at $12.97.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) raised its 2010-2012 EPS estimates on shares of EI du Pont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE:DD) Wednesday "due to better than expected 2Q results and an ongoing recovery in DD's key end markets..." wrote Citigroup's PJ Juvekar. Citigroup upped the chemical and life sciences company's 2010 EPS estimate from $2.63 to $3.00 and raised its 2011 EPS estimate from $3.00 to $3.40. Citigroup also slightly raised the company's price target from $39.50 to $44. SmarTrend is bullish on shares of EI du Pont de Nemours and our subscribers were alerted to buy on July 12, 2010 at $36.61; the stock has risen 10.3% since the alert was issued. EI Du Pont de Nemours is currently above its 50-day moving average (MA) of $36.49 and above its 200-day of $35.38. In the last five trading sessions, the 50-day MA has fallen -0.01% while the 200-day MA has risen 0.48%. Shares of the company are trading up 0.47% Wednesday morning at $40.57.
Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE:C) raised its 2010 loss per share by $0.02, to $0.46, on shares of Cynosure, Inc. (NASDAQ:CYNO) Wednesday. "The boost is "to account for the $0.02 downside from 2Q results vs. our forecast," writes Citigroup's Matthew J. Dodds. "Our sales estimate increases $1[million] to $83[million] as a result of higher than expected Service revenue in Q2. Our target moves down $1, to $12," Dodds continued.SmarTrend alerted subscribers to take profits in Cynosure on May 20, 2010 at $11.54; since then the stock fell 12.8%. We are now watching for any positive developments that could result in a new uptrend signal. Cynosure is currently below its 50-day moving average (MA) of $10.83 and below its 200-day MA of $10.95. In the last five trading sessions, the 50-day MA has fallen 3.14% while the 200-day MA has slid 0.47%. Shares of the laser manufacturer are trading up 0.40% Wednesday morning at $10.14.
Citigroup reiterated its "Buy" rating on shares of IBM (NYSE:IBM), following the company's Q2 results. Citi said that the pullback in shares, while not surprising given the 12% decline in bookings, was a buying opportunity ahead of new product cycles. The firm said its $150 price target is based on "achievable 2H10 and 2011 EPS estimates and conservative valuation assumptions". SmarTrend currently has International Business Machines in an Uptrend and is currently monitoring these developments and will alert subscribers to any change of trend.
US stock futures are trading mixed Friday following disappointing results from Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) as well as concerns over profit growth at Google (NASDAQ:GOOG).Economic reports due out include June consumer prices, May Treasury inflows and the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer confidence gauge for July. In corporate news, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) rose nearly 5% in premarket trading following news that the bank agreed to pay $550 million to settle allegations of fraud brought by the SEC. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are trading 8.00 points below fair value, the S&P500 (INX) futures are trading 0.20 points below fair value, and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) futures are trading 2.50 points above fair value.
Citigroup (NYSE:C) reported Q2 EPS of $0.09, topping consensus estimates of $0.05. Revenues in the quarter fell 26% to $22.07 billion, slightly below analyst estimates of $22.16 billion. The company reported a Tier 1 Capital Ratio of 12.0%. Vikram Pandit, Chief Executive Officer, said "I am pleased that we have produced solid operating results for the second consecutive quarter...While the market environment lowered revenues in Securities and Banking, credit improved for the fourth consecutive quarter." Citi reported that its provisions for credit losses declined $2.0 billion sequentially to $6.7 billion, the lowest level since the third quarter of 2007.
Citigroup (C) is slated to report its Q2 results ahead of the opening bell on Friday, July 16. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $0.05 per share on revenue of $22.1 billion. Citigroup holds to a reversal pattern between the sessions within the pool of quarters we've tracked. The stock has seen narrower movement between the pre-market and following regular session following 13 of its last 22 earnings events. In the near-term, the stock is mixed, with two reversals and two widening moves between the sessions over the last four quarters.
6/24/2010- Citigroup analysts are reducing their price target to $29, down from $32, for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) and their 2011 and 2012 EPS estimates for the company. The bank now sees fiscal 2011 EPS of $1.38, down from $1.44, vs. consensus estimates of $1.42 per share, and fiscal 2012 EPS of $1.54, down from $1.67, vs. consensus estimates of $1.55 per share. Analyst Ashwin Shirvaikar said, "PAYX results and guidance support our view that the slow pace of employment and interest rate recovery makes fiscal 2011 a "transition" year. Secondly, the cumulative impact of the continued decline in the number of clients more than offsets the modest turn in the checks-per-client metric. Lastly, in addition to the slow top-line recovery, the margin improvement that bulls on the name expect will likely have to wait a year as PAYX re-invests in its employees and business this year after the extreme cost-cutting in fiscal 2009-10. So, we maintain a cautious Hold rating on PAYX and continue to prefer ADP, where expectations are more muted and the valuation is more favorable."
6/14/2010- Citigroup analysts adjusted their EPS estimates and price target for Thor Industries Inc. (NYSE:THO) after the company reported third quarter results. Analyst Gregory R. Badishkanian said, "Given upside to our est in the quarter and improved margin trends, we're raising our '10-'12 EPS ests by 13c, 5c, and 5c each. We are lowering our target price by $7 to $36 to reflect our lower multiple given likely overhang from a potential accounting issue risk and a potential slowdown in industry sales." The bank now sees fiscal 2010 EPS of $1.86, up from $1.73 per share, vs. consensus estimates of $1.84 per share, and fiscal 2011 EPS of $2.39, up from $2.34 per share, vs. consensus estimates of $2.39 per share.
Citigroup analysts are upgrading Beazer Homes (NYSE:BZH) to buy from hold, with a $7 price target, based on valuation. Analysts Josh Levin said, "Although the stock price has dropped sharply over the past few weeks, we think the fundamentals of the BZH story have improved. More specifically, we think the recap served to (1) effectively eliminate existential risk as BZH now does not face any debt maturities until 11/13 (2) remove the overhang associated with possible future equity issuance and (3) allow management to focus on improving the company's operations as opposed to the balance sheet. Beyond the recap, we note that BZH's 2Q10 results showed an unexpected gross margin (GM) improvement. While BZH, like most homebuilders, faces potential GM deterioration with the expiration of the tax credit, we think it is nonetheless encouraging that BZH, which has historically been a below average operator, showed operational improvements." The bank sees fiscal 2010 EPS of $0.26, vs. consensus estimates for a loss of $0.14 per share, and a fiscal 2011 loss of $0.22 per share, vs. consensus estimates for a loss of $0.38 per share.
Citigroup analysts are raising their price target to $56, up from $49, for WebMD Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD) after reporting healthy first quarter results. Analysts Mark S. Mahaney said, "1) There is an accelerating shift in BioPharma ad budgets online - from relatively very low levels; 2) due to its brand strength/positioning with both consumers & medical professionals, WBMD is one of the major beneficiaries of this shift; & 3) WBMD's model contains significant leverage." Citigroup reiterates its buy rating on the stock. The bank sees fiscal 2010 EPS of $0.66, vs. consensus estimates of $0.81 per share, and fiscal 2011 EPS of $1.15, vs. consensus estimates of $1.11 per share.
Citigroup analysts are downgrading PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE:PHM) to hold, based on valuation, and maintain their $14 price target. Analyst Josh Levin said, "Our sense is that the current homebuilder rally may be running out of steam and that the investment thesis we laid out in our 4/8 "Fade the Fade Trade" note has largely played out. On Friday, DHI reported results which we think exceeded not only the published consensus forecast but also the forecasts of more optimistic investors. Given how well-positioned DHI is with regards to achieving profitability and driving order growth, our sense is that DHI's results likely marked the high point for positive news in the 1Q10 earnings season. Considering DHI's strong results and the volatile nature of the homebuilder stocks, we think DHI's ~3.2% increase on Friday qualifies as less than a bullish performance. Furthermore, we observe that the other homebuilder stocks did not gap up on DHI's news, an event that typically happens during homebuilder rallies." The bank sees a fiscal 2010 loss of $0.06 per share, vs. consensus estimates for a loss of $0.44 per share, and fiscal 2011 EPS of $0.59, vs. consensus estimates of $0.33 per share.
Citigroup Equity Research issued a note to clients with a strong bullish case for shares of Motorola (NYSE:MOT) raising its target price to $10 from $9.50 and reiterating its Buy rating following the company's quarterly results. Citigroup analyst Jim Suva said, "Smartphone units topped expectations. MOT shipped 2.3mln smartphones, better than mgt guidance of q/q decline from 4Q09 2.0mln units. Mobile Device revenues were $1.64bln, w/total shipments of 8.5mln units at $193 ASP. Adj. segment loss widened to -$148mln/-9.0% inline w/mgt guidance. Consensus called for $1.66bln revenues, 10.1mln units at $166 & operating loss of -$160mln. Other segments largely inline. Total revenue of $5.0bln was essentially inline w/$5.1bln consensus but EPS beat expectations as fully adjusted EPS (ex-items, amort. & stock comp) $0.06 includes $0.04 stock comp & amort, so apples to apples EPS of +$0.02 topped mgt guidance of ($0.03) to ($0.01) & consensus ($0.01)." Citigroup also noted that Motorola intends to roll out the Droid in China and while Research In Motion's (NASDAQ:RIMM) attempt to enter the market with its Blackberry has been lackluster, the Droid may penetrate markets more affectively as Citi expects MOT's Android devices to offer native Chinese characters & touch screen. RIMM required users to spell out Chinese words phonetically on English keyboards. Suva concluded, "MOT is on the right side of the Android invasion, poised to gain share, expand margins, & increase blended ASP ...
Citigroup Equity Research issued a note to clients raising its target for shares of Borg Warner (NYSE:BWA) to $52 from $42 and reiterating its Buy rating on "very strong Q1" results. Citigroup analyst Itay Michaeli said, "BWA trades at 13.6x our revised '11E EPS vs. our target multiple of 16.0x. We cite five reasons why BWA still looks inexpensive: (1) On our numbers, BWA still trades with a modest discount to select industrial peers such as Honeywell (16.2x), United Technologies (14.2x) and Johnson Controls (14.0x); (2) We still view our revised 2011E EPS with an upward bias as it does not incorporate margins above BWA's historic 8.5-9.0% range, even though a valid case for margin upside can be made; (3) We project 18% EPS growth in 2012 driven by an already disclosed backlog; (4) Management's update regarding quoting activity suggests 2013 could see another year of 10+% top-line growth; and (5) Global fuel economy regulations continue to point to a favorable medium-term earnings outlook."
Citigroup Equity Research issued a note to clients raising its target price on shares of Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE) to $30 from $27, citing solid first quarter results. Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney said that the company showed somewhat mixed fundamental trends, with organic first-quarter gross bookings growing 23% year-over-year in the face of modestly tougher comp. Meanwhile, OIBA margin was down 40 basis points year-over-year to 19.9%, but ahead of their 15.5% estimate. Mahaney listed the following "key positives and negatives" including improving revenue margin trend; strong advertising revenue, which was up 34%; and share buyback of $188 million, all of which were positives. On the other hand, Mahaney noted soft second quarter guidance for flat year-over-year OIBA. As a result, Citi raised its 2010 EPS estimate to $1.67 from $1.55 on lower tax rate and share count. Citigroup also reiterated its Buy rating on the shares, which are trading 0.8% higher.
Citigroup Equity Research issued a note to clients early Wednesday cutting its price target for shares of Robert Half International Inc (NYSE:RHI) to $34 from $36 citing disappointing quarterly results. Citi analyst Ashwin Shirvaikar said, "Robert Half International's (RHI's) 1Q10 missed CIRA/consensus estimates, which may have been below investor expectations. However, we point out that Temp results were generally in-line and Perm actually surprised to the upside - it was weakness at Protiviti that led to the $0.01 shortfall in the quarter. Given the high expectations into the quarter, we were not surprised to see the ~10% stock correction in the aftermarket. Staffing trends and the expected 2Q10 revenue uptick lend support to our view that RHI is well-positioned to benefit from an employment recovery. We view any weakness as an enhanced buying opportunity. Buy RHI." Shirvaikar concluded, "While RHI's recovery is lagging those of its industrial- focused peers, we believe it is a matter of timing and are encouraged by the rebound in Perm. RHI remains well-positioned to capitalize in this recovery, and we view any stock weakness as an enhanced buying opportunity for LT investors."
Citigroup Equity Research issued a note to clients early Wednesday raising its price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing Inc (NYSE:ADP) to $48.50 from $46.00 citing a strong third-quarter and improving metrics. Citigroup analyst Ashwin Shivaikar said, "ADP posted a strong set of quarterly results with revenues and EPS beating expectations. Core metrics (retention, pays per control, new sales) continue to show sequential improvement as economic conditions improve, and ADP is executing well on the cost side. However, mgmt made a point to call out the delayed revenue pickup that ADP historically experiences as well as the impact from lower interest income, which will temper expectations for initial FY11 guidance in late July/early August. We are making modest tweaks to our ests but our PT goes up to $48.50 as we roll-forward our valuation. Maintain Buy on ADP." Citigroup reiterated its Buy rating on shares of ADP.
Citigroup issued a note to clients early Wednesday downgrading Domino's Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) to Hold from Buy, but boosting its target price to $19.50 from $18.50, saying they believe the substantial acceleration in SSS they saw after initially upgrading the company is fully known to investors. Citigroup analyst Gregory R Badishkanian said, "We believe investor expectations heading into 1Q EPS are quite high for DPZ. As a reminder, DPZ has seen excellent traction following the intro/promo of its newly revamped pizza line in Jan./Feb., which was echoed by mgmt on its 4Q09 EPS call (early March). Also, DPZ's main competitor, Pizza Hut, recently announced a +17% sequential swing in 1Q10 SSS vs. 4Q09. These factors have contributed to a sharp rally in DPZ shares, which now reflect the positive fundamentals that DPZ is currently seeing. While we expect DPZ to report upside 1Q results (w/+16% US SSS), we feel this is largely priced in and the risk- reward is balanced." Citi went on to say, "We are raising our 1Q est. by 8c to 38c, and taking up our '10 est. by 22c to $1.30. We also raised '11 and '12 est. by 16c and 12c to $1.41 and $1.53 respectively. While we are above largely 'stale' FC ests, we think the stock is pricing in upwardly revised est's. Given higher est's, we raised our TP to $19.50."
Citigroup Equity Research boosted its target price for shares of Lexmark International Inc (NYSE:LXK) from $52 to $56, citing "more positive revisions ahead." Citigroup analyst Richard Gardner reiterated his Buy rating, but removed the name from Citi's Top Picks Live! list following the company's solid Q1 beat. Gardner said, "We continue to see significant upside to consensus EPS ests, but 2Q10 results are not likely to exceed expectations by as wide a margin as 1Q10 and we expect other analysts and investors to remain highly skeptical of our FY11 est. $5.02 EPS in the near term."
Citigroup issued earnings preview for Burger King Holdings (NYSE:BKC) early Wednesday, estimating earnings per share of $0.29, which is inline with consensus estimates. However, they said in late March their checks had shown a meaningful improvement in BKC's domestic SSS, following very sot results in January and February due to adverse weather. Citi analyst Gregory R Badishkanian said, "As we noted in late March, while we were encouraged by the sharp sequential acceleration vs. Jan/Feb, we wanted to see how the trend progressed in April before declaring it a positive inflection point. Our recent checks suggest April SSS in the US have improved slightly, though are still negative y/y. In our view, we would like to see greater sequential improvements continue before becoming more constructive on the stock." Badishkanian went on to say, "We continue to believe BKC's long-term outlook remains intact, driven by proactive efforts to reinvigorate domestic SSS (revamped breakfast lineup, innovation around more premium products, and potentially accelerating remodels) as well as solid intl unit expansion and FCF growth." Citigroup maintained its Hold rating on shares of the company.
Citigroup Equity Research issued a note to clients early Tuesday raising its target price on shares of Ciena Corp (NASDAQ:CIEN) from $18.50 to $25.00 citing "incremental insights from management meetings." Citigroup hosted the company's CFO Jim Moylan for two days and came away with two major points. Citigroup analyst Kevin J Dennean said, "Discussions w/mgt increase our conviction that interim model will prove very conservative. Mgt again emphasized the decisive portfolio & personnel actions taken in early stages of integration. Synergies were not particularly emphasized at Analyst Day, but we believe they will be a significant part of the story going forward in 2H & beyond. We also believe that interim model doesn't fully account for CoreDirector refresh in 2HCY10, with potential for significant positive GM% impact." As a results, Citigroup said the following , "Our estimates increase based on mgt commentary on MEN (where we had been overly conservative), timing of deal close, & slightly stronger overall growth rates as our cycle conviction increases. OpEx estimates also increase, but more importantly, our CY11 EPS/OM% estimate is now $0.93/6.6% vs. prior $0.53/4.9% & add'l upside likely over time. CIEN stand-alone posted multiple quarters ~15% OM% & we have no reason to believe Classic CIEN is now structurally lower."
Early Monday Citigroup Equity Research issued a note to clients raising its target price on shares of Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) to $6 from $5. Citigroup analyst Michael Rollins said, "We remain a Buyer of Sprint, and believe our trading call thesis remains intact heading into 1Q results. We expect Sprint's share price to benefit from: 1) potential to stabilize postpaid CDMA performance through 2Q/10; 2) prospects to identify new areas to manage and cut costs; & 3) current valuation that remains at the lower-end of the historical sector range with expectations remaining low for revenue to eventually stabilize. We are raising our target price to $6/shr, as we anticipate Sprint to articulate some operating progress on its1Q call & our analysis of historical share price performance bodes well for S during 2Q." Citi also reiterated their Buy rating on shares of Sprint Nextel,
Following Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) "stunning" first quarter results, Citigroup Equity Research issued a note to clients reiterating its Buy rating and raising its estimates and target price for the iPod maker. Citi analyst Richard Gardner boosted his target price to $320 from $300 saying, "While the shares may take a breather following Wednesday's rally, we would use any pull-backs as enhanced buying opportunities ahead of what should be a truly banner Holiday season for the company." Regarding the company's actual results Gardner said, "March quarter revenue and EPS of $13.5B (+49% yoy) and $3.33 (+86% yoy) handily exceeded even the most bullish expectations. Revenue and EPS were $1B and $0.40-0.50 above the most optimistic estimates driven by record iPhone sales of 8.8M units (+131% yoy). Meanwhile, PC and iPod shipments were both in line with normal seasonality." Regarding Apple's sandbagged guidance, Citigroup said, "Management's June quarter guidance was typically conservative, especially with respect to gross margin. Management guided gross margin down 600bp qoq citing a variety of factors, including the iPad ramp, product refreshes, currency and Education seasonality. Our modeling suggests a much more modest ~200bp decline in gross margin, leaving our $2.75 EPS estimate well above guidance of $2.28-2.39." Richardson concluded by saying that their Bull Thesis on the stock was refreshed especially since Apple was able to deliver such significant upside before this ...
*** GET FREE DVD *** CLICK HERE: www.FindYourPassions.com?t=CAYM Enter name, phone and email Add CAYM to your name. Front Page § SEC Split on Goldman Case § SEC has decided to sue Goldman Sachs over objections of 2 Repulican commissioners - potential politicization § SEC alleges in 2007 they deceived clients selling mortgage securities secretly designed by hedge-fund king John Paulson § Goldman's defense is that they lost $90M; they are downplaying event and trader at center is on paid leave. § Allies Kill 2 Chiefs of Iraqi Al Qaeda § Iraqi security forces killed the top 2 leaders of alQaeda in Iraq - part of group responsible for many attacks § Death of these two leaders could make it easier for troop withdrawals and political boost for Iraqi Prime Minister § Prime Minister needs the boost after several bombings and a recount of 2.4M votes possibly prolonging issues Marketplace § Tech Firms Bulk Up with Debt § Tech firms are raising capital through debt, taking advantage of thawing credit markets § S companies, SAP, Adobe and SFDC have raised several billion dollars selling debt for the 1st time in their histories § Big change for S/W companies, poised for acquisitions and cheaper than selling stock and diluting their companies. § Google Attackers Got Access to Code § Attackers who breached their systems last year gained access to computer code for s/w that authenticates users of Google's email, calendar and other online programs § Nature of the attacks and perpetrators ...
Prominent Saudi investor, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, expressed his continued support for Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE:C), after the bank posted its Q1 results earlier today. Alwaleed, a major Citigroup shareholder, said, "Citigroup has demonstrated its ability to overcome the recent economic obstacles. I commend Citigroup's performance and management of Citigroup under the leadership of Vikram Pandit who has my firm backing. The company is trading up 2.96% at $4.70 on volume of 1156898218, versus the average volume of 548079000.
Citigroup (NYSE:C) reported Q1 EPS of $0.15, topping consensus estimates for break-even results. Citigroup sales in the quarter rose to $25.4 billion, and came in ahead of consensus estimates of $20.77 billion. Meanwhile, Citicorp revenues were $18.5 billion, up $4.8 billion or 35% from fourth quarter of 2009. "Citi today is fundamentally a very different company from what it was only two years ago," said Vikram Pandit, Citi's Chief Executive Officer. "With its financial strength, strategic clarity, efficiency, world-class business talent, and unique global footprint, Citi is well positioned to benefit from the key drivers of economic growth in developed and emerging markets."
4/13/2010-Citigroup Equity Research issued a note to clients early Tuesday raising its target price on shares of Coach Inc (NYSE:COH) to $49 from $44 ahead of the company's fiscal third-quarter results due out on Tuesday the 20th. Citigroup analyst Kimberly Greenberger said she sees EPS of $0.48 vs. consensus estimates of $0.46 and their "sensitivity analysis" shows achievable $3.00 EPS in CY2011 (vs. Citi's estimate of $2.70), which on an 18x multiple could offer upside potential to $54 over the next year. Greenberger said, "We expect further GM expansion in 3Q and beyond on continued benefit from lower product costs, lessening channel mix impact (improving full-price comps) & positive impact from lower promos as COH cycles deep discounting activity in Factory LY to clear excess goods. We expect 3Q GM +170 bps & 4Q +200 bps. Our current FY2011 EPS of $2.53 assumes only +40 bps GM expansion (still ~500 bps below peak)." Citigroup went on to say they see Coach's 2-year comp trend to "meaningfully accelerate" in the third-quarter (to about flat vs. a 10% decline in the second quarter). As a result, Citi said they were buyers of the stock given their view of improving comparative growth and GM expansion as well as share repurchases, which could generate EPS growth and multiple expansion.
Early Friday Citigroup Equity Research issued a note to clients discussing Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 4.0 event and the implications it may have on the company's second-quarter earnings. Citigroup analyst Richard Gardner said that most of the new features unveiled were expected, however, multi-tasking is the only "meaningful surprise." Gardner went on to say that Jobs did however, provide a key update on iPhone and iPod checks, implying potential EPS of approximately $2.75 - $2.90, well above consensus estimates of $2.40. Jobs said the iPhone has sold "over 50 million iPhones to date," which implies 7 - 8 million iPhone shipments during the March quarter, well above Citi's estimate of 6.0 million and consensus estimates of 6.8 million. According to Citigroup's model, every 1 million iPhone shipments suggest EPS adds of $0.28 (~12%) to fiscal second-quarter results. Jobs also reported cumulative Touch shipments of 35 million, which indicates that March quarter units are also tracking ahead of their 4.5 million estimate, which Citi says may lead to better ASPs and margins. Gardner applauded the new multi-tasking ability, but said that Apple had intentionally omitted it in the past given its negative impact on battery life performance. Finally, regarding iAd, Citigroup said they expect the app integration ability to meaningfully spur app development on the iPhone platform, but is too early to accurately assess the financial impact. Citigroup did however say that they see ...
3/30/2010-Citigroup raised its price target on NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) to $24 from $23 following the release of the company's new Fermi-based GPUs, which the bank believes give the company a performance lead over chief rival AMD (NYSE:AMD). Analyst Glen Yeung said, "Not surprising, reviewers laud Fermi for its general purpose computing abilities. Recall that Fermi was designed to perform general compute tasks, not just straight graphics. To be fair, there are limited examples of software that takes advantage of this capability. But, on available software, Fermi results are 70%-800% better than AMD or prior Nvidia offerings. We continue to view GPU compute as an important longer-term driver of graphics chips and believe that on this front, Nvidia has established a beachhead with Fermi. Yeung, continued, "Despite the puts and takes on Fermi, our checks suggest Nvidia is tracking above consensus this quarter (Greater Than $1B vs. $986M) and orders are tracking to flat for next (vs. $997M). A pickup in desktop related sales and noticeable strength from major customer Apple is driving the upside. We raise our 1Q11(Apr) and 2Q11(Jul) revenues above consensus ($1.01B for each quarter versus $1.01B/$960M previously). For FY11 we now model GAAP EPS of $1.12, above consensus of $0.94.
3/29/2010- Citigroup analysts are raising their price target for Burger King Holdings (NYSE:BKC) to $22, up from $19, owing to a higher target multiple. Analyst Gregory R. Badishkanian said, "We sense BKC's US SSS increased meaningfully during March, following very soft results in Jan. and Feb. due to adverse weather. We do not believe this is widely expected across the Street. As a reminder, BKC preannounced in early March that Jan/Feb domestic SSS were down 8% (weather impacted results by -3%), though traffic turned positive in the 1st wk of March." He added, "In addition to BKC, we sense overall QSR traffic improved sequentially during March for the first time in over a year, owing largely to pent up demand following adverse weather in Jan. and Feb. While it is still early to call this a positive inflection for QSR, it is an encouraging data point nonetheless." Citigroup sees fiscal 2010 EPS of $1.35, vs. consensus estimates of $1.36, and fiscal 2011 EPS of $1.54, vs. consensus estimates of $1.52.
Citigroup raised its price target for SMART Modular Technologies (NASDAQ:SMOD) from $8.50 to $10 based on stronger-than-expected FQ2 revenues, but maintained its Hold rating on the stock. Jim Suva said, "While impressed with SMOD's results and improved end market demand outlook, we would not chase the stock given its recent run and +15% after hours stock price reaction. We prefer to wait for further clarity on shift to higher density modules and traction in its SSD endeavors before fully giving the company credit for such relatively new efforts. Our top picks remain APH, TEL, FLEX, and JBL. For 2010, the bank boosted its EPS estimate for the company from $0.41 to $0.71, versus consensus estimates of $0.38.
Citigroup reiterated its Buy rating on Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) with a $48 price target as it continues to believe that the stock's predictability makes it a core part of any yield-oriented portfolio. Analyst Brian Chin said, "ED shares, like many defensive electric utility shares, currently have a dividend yield of ~5%. We believe this dividend yield is too high relative to 10 year Treasury yields (including both Citi's 12 month forecast of 4.25% yields by 1Q11 and a repeal of the dividend tax cut at year end 2010), given that historically, regulated utility dividend yields trade below 10 year Treasury yields. Based on our outlook for Treasury yields, our non-consensus view is that one year forward regulated defensive P/E multiples will be at 14x in 12 months. We apply our 14x multiple to our 2011 ED EPS forecast to arrive at our $48 target price. Our target price implies an expected total return of 13.6%." Chin continued, "ED is not a stock with sizzle. But, ConEd has revenue decoupling, fuel clauses, formulaic return calculations, and A-level credit. For relatively predictable financial results and strong dividend yield, we recommend ED shares as a core part of any yield-oriented portfolio." For 2010, the bank expects the company to report EPS of $3.22 versus consensus estimates of $3.26.

