12 Best Affordable Stocks To Buy Right Now

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4. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Forward P/E Ratio: 11.93 

Earnings Growth This Year: 6.10%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 88

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) is a major financial services company that provides a wide range of banking and investment services. It operates in key banking areas including services, markets, banking, and wealth.

The company has been making significant strides in modernizing its technology infrastructure and improving operational efficiency. As part of its ongoing transformation, the company retired over 1,250 outdated applications from 2022, simplifying its systems to enhance performance and compliance. They also launched a new capacity planning tool, which has reduced the onboarding times for new applications from weeks to just days. Moreover, as a result of these transformations, Citigroup Inc.’s (NYSE:C) loan servicing platform has grown significantly, with live deals now valued at approximately $25 billion, as of the third quarter of 2024.

The fiscal third quarter of 2024 was a record quarter for its services segment and driven by fees, loans, and deposits. Management also announced its integration with Mastercard Move, enabling secure near-instant payments across 14 markets. Overall the total revenue of the bank improved 1% year-over-year to $20.3 billion. It is one of the best affordable stocks to buy right now.

Diamond Hill Capital Long-Short Fund stated the following regarding Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:

“Other top Q1 contributors included Meta Platforms, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) and Walt Disney. Banking and financial services company Citigroup’s restructuring efforts are ongoing, and it continues remediating regulatory issues and building capital in anticipation of increased requirements. The company expects to see expenses fall meaningfully in the second half of 2024, bolstering the outlook from here.”

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