Citigroup paid top executives smaller bonuses last year tied to results of the bank's turnaround and risk management fixes required by regulators, the bank's proxy filing on Tuesday showed.
Trump tariffs and the related fears of an economic slowdown ahead are broadly expected to serve as headwinds for the US bank stocks in 2025. Still, one of them, Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C), is worth buying on the recent weakness, according to Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo.
Market instability and the resulting downward pressure on equities have created a unique investment opportunity in the form of undervalued stocks. While widespread concern often accompanies market sell-offs, such downturns also present a chance to invest in fundamentally sound companies at discounted prices.
Citigroup plans to dramatically reduce its reliance on information technology contractors and hire thousands of employees for IT as the lender grapples with regulatory punishments over data governance and deficient controls.
Citigroup stock is undervalued, trading at 75.5% of its tangible book value, presenting a strong buying opportunity amid recent market volatility. Despite subpar historical returns, Citigroup's strategic focus on high-margin businesses and a $20B stock buyback program should drive significant EPS and tangible book value growth. Simplification efforts, including selling non-core operations and investing in technology, position Citigroup to achieve a 10-11% ROTCE and improve profitability.
C's business restructuring efforts and focus on core operations provide a solid foundation for growth despite the volatile market backdrop.
In his February letter to shareholders, Warren Buffett announced a new record Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A 0.01%) (BRK.B -0.09%) set in 2024: It paid more in taxes than any company ever paid the U.S. government in a single year. And that's despite significantly lower tax rates in recent years than throughout the history of Berkshire Hathaway.
Like other Wall Street banks, Citigroup is worried about the state of the U.S. economy, and recommend putting money elsewhere. For now.
The stock market was down big on Monday. As of 3:10 p.m.
OPCH, LMAT, C, FFIN and IBCP have been added to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) List on March 4, 2025.
IBCP, FFIN and C made it to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) income stocks list on March 4, 2025.
C has erroneously credited $81 trillion, instead of $280, to a client's account and has taken hours to reverse the transaction.