Citigroup (C) is expected to report Q3 earnings on Thursday, October 15 before the market opens, with a conference call scheduled for 11 am ET.
Guidance
Analysts are looking for EPS of (23c) on revenue of $20.03B. The consensus range is (51c)-(7c) for EPS and $17.75B-$22.94B for revenue, according to First Call. Analysts have had mixed outlooks on Citigroup in recent weeks.
Analyst Views
On October 13, Deutsche Bank initiated the stock with a Buy rating. The firm thinks Citigroup is well-positioned compared with its peers for either a stronger than expected economic recovery or a double-dip recession. Deutsche Bank predicts that the government will soon reduce its stake in the bank, and it believes that Citigroup's valuation is attractive. The firm set a $5.50 target on the shares. On the other hand, Keefe Bruyette initiated Citigroup with a Market Perform rating earlier this month. The firm believes that Citigroup will continue to report operating losses and it predicts that the bank's risk reduction process will probably not be wrapped up in the near-term.
Several analysts have recently been pessimistic about the banking sector as a whole. Meredith Whitney recommended taking profits in banks ahead of their Q3 earnings reports. The analyst expects the sector to report mixed Q3 results, and she predicts that they'll be hurt by lower earnings assets and rising delinquencies. Deutsche Bank earlier this month warned that U.S. banks are coping with high charge offs. The firm also predicted that improvements in credit trends next year would be weaker than expected. On a positive note, a report recently released by management and recruiting firm Egon Zehnder International gave Citigroup's management relatively high grades, published reports stated. The report, which was ordered by the bank's board, was especially positive about Citigroup CEO Virkam Pandit. However, the FDIC questioned the validity of the report, according to the Wall Street Journal.
