American Express, Citi Defended

Brokerages raise price targets on both beaten-down stocks.

Author:: TSC Staff
Publish date:: Nov 20, 2002 9:49 AM EST

Updated from 8:26 a.m. EST

Two beaten-down financial services giants were supported in Wall Street research Wednesday.

Citigroup

, which has seen its stock crushed this year because of ongoing regulatory scrutiny and now trades at $36.44, could be worth $50 a share, according to UBS Warburg. The brokerage said an analysis of the company's individual components -- one that excludes the headline risk -- results in a current fair value of about $44 and a 12-month target of $50.

Elsewhere, Prudential reportedly raised its price target on

American Express

(AXP) - Get Report

to $45 a share following a meeting with the company's chief financial officer. The shares currently trade at $37.26.

Prudential reiterated its buy rating and said: "We now expect AXP to earn $2.30 a share in fiscal 2003, as operating trends are moving in the right direction."