Citigroup Inc. (C), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Wells Fargo & Co (WFC): Banking On, Well, Banking

Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) has also implemented various expense management initiatives. These have started yielding results. The bank’s efficiency ratio during 1Q 2013 was 58.3%, which is in its long-term target range of 55% to 59%. While Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) does pay a 2.7% dividend yield and is making strides to decrease its mortgage banking exposure, its valuation is quite unappealing, trading at 1.5 times book value, well above JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM).

Bottom feeding

While back in 2009, Bank of America traded close to $3 per share and Citi fell from its $550 price tag in 2007 to trade at $10, that’s no longer the case. But I believe there is still inherent turnaround value in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C).

Citi posted June-ended quarterly results of $1.34 per share, compared to $0.95 for the same quarter last year and on the back of an 11% rise in revenue. Citi also got a thumbs up on its stress-test results, allowing the bank to initiate a $1.2 billion in share repurchases through the first quarter of 2014.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) gets the majority of its revenue from outside the U.S., with operations in over 160 countries and its balance sheet appears strong. Citi’s loss allowance is over $20 billion, which is over 200% of non-accrual loans.

Between the two major unloved banks, Citi is head and shoulders above Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) on return on equity and return on assets…

I like Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) the best of the major banks, believing it has the most room to run over the long-term. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) have ran up too much for me to be excited about.

The article Banking On, Well, Banking originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Marshall Hargrave.

Marshall Hargrave is long Citigroup. The Motley Fool recommends Bank of America and Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America, Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) , JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM)., and Wells Fargo. Marshall is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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