Shares of Citigroup Inc. hit an all-time high of $55.61 in Monday trading, aided by favorable research, though the run-up cooled off by the end of the session, and the shares finished up 2.5% for the day, at $55.44.
The New York banking company's gain was also aided by news that it had closed its deal for a stake in Guangdong Development Bank in China. Citi led a consortium of investors in buying 85.6% of the bank, a deal approved by Chinese regulators last month. Citi's stake in the company is 20%.
Separately, analyst Guy Moszkowski of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. upgraded the company's shares to "buy," from "neutral." In a research note, he wrote that pressure on Citi's net interest margin should diminish next year as the yield curve improves.
The company also has "less deal risk" than its competitors, Mr. Moszkowski wrote. There is a "very low likelihood" that Citi will make a large purchase in the United States, he wrote, and the uptick in its stock price in the last two weeks could prompt it to seek reasonable deals.
Also Monday, analyst Richard Bove of Punk, Ziegel & Co. raised his price target for shares of Citi by $10, to $69. He already had Citi rated a "buy."
Elsewhere, shares of R&G Financial Corp. rose 1.4% after the San Juan, Puerto Rico, company said its chief executive officer would step down at yearend.
The company said Monday that Victor J. Galan, 73, is leaving the CEO post over disagreements with R&G's board of directors about the company's persistent accounting issues. Mr. Galan is to remain chairman until June 1.
Rolando Rodriguez, 42, the president and CEO of R&G's subsidiary thrift company in Florida, is to succeed Mr. Galan in the CEO role.
The American Banker index of 225 bank stocks fell 0.58%, and the thrift index dropped 0.56%. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.32%. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 0.03%.
Elsewhere, Sovereign Bancorp in Philadelphia shed 0.8% after RBC Capital Markets analyst James Ackor downgraded it to "underperform," from "sector perform," based on valuation.
Other decliners included First Regional Bancorp of Los Angeles, which fell 4.6%; CoBiz Inc. in Denver, off 4.5%; and Community Banks Inc. in Harrisburg, Pa., 3.6%.
Gainers included Corus Bankshares Inc. in Chicago, up 2.1%, and AmeriCredit Corp. in Fort Worth, 1.6%.
