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Citigroup (C) shares soared 9.2% in the last trading session to close at $64.15. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 12.9% loss over the past four weeks.
Citigroup experienced a significant stock price increase primarily driven by President Donald Trump's announcement of a 90-day pause on "reciprocal" import tariffs, which lessened investor concerns about potential economic downturns due to trade war. This optimism boosted investor confidence in the banking sector stocks, like C.
This U.S. bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.84 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +16.5%. Revenues are expected to be $21.14 billion, up 0.2% from the year-ago quarter.
Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.
For Citigroup, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.9% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. And a negative trend in earnings estimate revisions doesn't usually translate into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on C going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Citigroup is a member of the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry. One other stock in the same industry, Morgan Stanley (MS), finished the last trading session 11.4% higher at $111.70. MS has returned -10.5% over the past month.
Morgan Stanley's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed -0.6% over the past month to $2.23. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +10.4%. Morgan Stanley currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
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Citigroup Inc. (C) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
