5 Bank Stock Winners for the First Quarter (Update 1)

4. Citigroup
Shares of Citigroup closed at $36.55 Friday, returning 39% year-to-date, following last year-s 44% decline.

The shares trade for 0.7 times tangible book value, and for eight times the consensus 2013 EPS estimate of $4.78.

After its 2012 capital plan -- which included a dividend increase and share buybacks -- was rejected by the Fed, Citigroup on March 13 said that "in light of the Federal Reserve's actions, Citi will submit a revised Capital Plan to the Federal Reserve later this year, as required by the applicable regulations."

Citigroup will report its first-quarter results on April 16, with the consensus among analysts being a 99-cent profit. Deutsche Bank analyst Matt O'Connor is far ahead of the consensus with a first-quarter EPS estimate of $1.19, because of the "rebound in capital markets," especially in trading revenue.

Analysts can expect a messy first quarter for Citigroup, which, according to O'Connor, will "include the impacts from a number of previously-disclosed sales of equity stakes, including: a $1.1b pre-tax gain from the sale of HDFC ($722m after-tax), a $349m after-tax gain from the sale of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, and a $1.1b pre-tax impairment charge ($700m after-tax) from C's plans to reduce its Akbank stake by 50%."

O'Connor rates Citigroup a "Buy," and on Friday raised his price target for the shares to $40 from $36.

Interested in more on Citigroup? See TheStreet Ratings' report card for this stock.

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