Jim Cramer’s Game Plan: 12 Stocks in Focus This Week

5. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 88

Cramer mentioned banks like Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) and remarked:

“On Wednesday, we’re gonna hear from JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup. I think they’re all gonna be pretty darn good. Plus, given the environment has improved for mergers and acquisitions, as we’ve seen already this year, we gotta have some excellent forecast. I like these stocks and they’re well off their highs with very low price-to-earnings multiples. Could it be a real opportunity? I think so. We’ve been buying a bunch of them for the Charitable Trust because a robust economy often produces the best results for these companies. Regardless of the bond market or the Fed. We have less, fewer credit problems.”

Citigroup (NYSE:C), a prominent global financial services firm, provides a broad spectrum of financial products including cash management, trading, and investment banking services. According to CFO Mark Mason at the Goldman Sachs 2024 U.S. Financial Services Conference, the company is on track to meet its revenue forecast for 2024, which is projected to fall between $80 billion and $81 billion. Mason noted that net interest income has exceeded expectations for the year.

While expenses are expected to reach the higher end of initial guidance, he expressed confidence that positive operating results would extend into 2025 and beyond. For the fourth quarter, the company expects a significant rise in investment banking fees, which are forecasted to increase by 25–30%. Additionally, Markets revenue is expected to grow by a high teen percentage.

However, Citigroup (NYSE:C) faces challenges related to its long-term profitability targets. As reported by the Financial Times, analysts on Wall Street are skeptical about the bank’s ability to meet its profitability goals. Specifically, they project its return on tangible common equity will be just over 9% next year, significantly lower than the 11% to 12% target set by CEO Jane Fraser in 2022 for 2026. To meet these goals, Fraser has been working to streamline the bank, including exiting consumer banking operations in 13 countries.