Stock advice - Citigroup (C)

Hey guys, anyone know anything about citigroup? i'm thinking about buying based on some stuff i've heard but i thought i'd see if anyone has any input. C is supposed to be a good investment because its global, but i noticed the government owns 27% of their stock. but to be honest i dont know how that fact will affect the stock itself.

Disclaimer: anyone can respond in this thread, but if you are not an established member i will read your response but very likely will not take your advice. This is about an investment after all and i'm not taking advice from someone who is not established as a knowledgable trustworthy member.

 

I actually just sold my C stock. The proposed/impending financial refrom is probably not going to be good to the investment banks. BTW, I used to be a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley, but that was 8 years ago. IMO, it really depends on what your investment is going to be used for. If you are just sticking in a few hundred/ thousand, then maybe, or if your time hoirzon is a long time from now. I think it is a pretty good buy (but what do I know), but most, if not all, of the rating firms call it a strong sell or avoid.

 

Damn, I sold my shit like a week ago with all the major rating groups giving it a sell or avoid. The S&P report is dated yesterday. Oh well, I still make 27%.

I guess I shouldn't listen to them sometimes, about a year a half ago SIRI was a strong sell/avoid, but the stock was at serious lows so bought when they said sell, well about a month ago I sold my SIRI for 469% return. I bought the stock at $0.1499.

 

Nice disclaimer! I have a lot of posts but am still full of shit - take it or leave it.

Anyway, why C? I mean are you diversified and have other plays in the financial sector? If not, you may be safer with an ETF or mutual fund. If you are looking to gamble, it MAY pay off with C. But if this is retirement money, put it into something a bit safer.

Apple, google, Slumber J, even GE are all good picks right now. Personally, I have been moving all of my stocks into ETF's or mutual funds. I have done well with VTV and VTG.

 

I bought GOOG last week at $536 with a 12 month S&P target at $725. Also, got an IPO CDXS $13.75, no target yet. I like the company profile.

http://www.codexis.com/

 

to be honest i'm just now getting into the market. i first became interested in citigroup from watching cramer. i so far have no plays in the financial sector, but C was attractive since it is global and not as severely impacted by US markets as other options. I actually prefer tech stock since i am more familiar with that sector but i'm trying to branch out a little. this is not retirement money. i dont consider myself a day trader but if my stock takes a significant bump i cash out before it can drop again. so i'm not a day trader but i have no problem taking the money and running.

i'd love to get me some google or apple but the stock is so expensive i could only get a few shares. if i were buying stock for the long term i'd prolly buy some but right now i'm looking for cheaper stock

 

damn, thats tempting.

 

You don't have to buy in blocks of 100. If you belong to TD Ameritrade or Etrade, stock trades are like $10 per trade. It doesn't matter if you buy 10 share or 500 shares, if the stock rises 10, 20% you still see the same return no matter the number of shares you own.

 

i use charles schwab, i think its like $8 a trade or something. if i got two google stocks and it went up $5 i'd have $10. but if i got 200 citigroup stocks and it only rose a dollar then i'd have $200 in profit instead of $10. thats the reasoning behind avoiding the pricier stock

 

You don't need a lot of shares in something to make it pay off. I bought 3 shares of Google at $350 each ($1050 total investment). It is now worth $1595.

I have since bought a few more of it too.

If you know something about tech and see a company that could become BIG - buy it. Otherwise, stick to the national or international companies. Though domestic is doing better than foreign right now.

The larger the company, the safer the play - typically. If you want to gamble, go for a smaller stock. Try Ford right now. I see them making a comeback pretty quickly.

 

i've actually considered ford. if only i jumped in when the stock was $1.... either way i still think they are a good investment.

how long did it take for your google shares to show that kind of return? i've currently got eveyrthing invested in Delcath (DCTH) which has risen a good bit since i bough Friday at $13.00

 

Yes, but you are comparing two different percentages. If Google went up $5, then you have made ~1%. If Citigroup went up a dollar, it would be up ~23%. So if Google went up 23%, you would have made the same as if Citigroup went up 23%.

Assuming you have $1,072 to invest.

2 shares of Google is ~$1072 * 23%= $246.56 + 1072= $1,318.56

241 shares of C is ~$1,072.45*23%= $246.66 +$1,072.45= $1,319.11

 

yeah, right now i'm waiting for their press release on June 5. suppose to be good news. i hope so...

 

holy shit, that make so much sense i cant believe i didn't already have that figured out. thanks for posting that. and this is exactly why i suggested a stock section to bob. in fact he's gotten a few requests for that. this whole thing has been a hell of a learning experience so far. right now i've only got about $1500 tied up in the market total. i obviously dont want to lose it but if i did its not a huge deal. i'm still trying to learn alot of the lingo and terms and trends all that fun stuff before i get more serious about it.

 

No sweat. This is what I do all day. I calculate and track costs for the Air Force. I loved being a finanical advisor but could not stand the sales bullshit of it.