Standards & Poor’s Reiterates “Hold” Rating for Citibank (NYSE: C)

Standards & Poor’s reiterated its “hold” rating on shares of Citibank (NYSE: C) following a major surge in the company’s stock price closing at $4.18 per share on Thursday.

The Standards & Poor’s analyst, Matthew Albrecht, while reviewing rumors that the company would be selling its real-estate investment business, Apollo Global Management, as well as a possible exit of the U.S. Treasury from the Stock.

Albrecht wrote that the main issue with Citibank’s stock at the present time is the 7.7 billion shares that the U.S. Treasury Owns. Albrecht said that a divestment of the federal government in Citigroup would “likely would reduce share price appreciation near term.” However, he adds that “a return to profitability in late ‘10 could provide a catalyst.”

Citibank also received a second bump on Thursday when company CEO Vikram Pandit presented at a company-sponsored conference for investors. Pandit said that he saw strong opportunities for growth in emerging markets and targeted a compounded 5% growth rate for the company, with assets growing between 1.25% and 1.50% per year.

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