Citigroup Inc.’s stock shed 0.9% in morning trade Monday, bucking the gains in financial sector and the broader stock market, after the bank was downgraded at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, which cited concerns over relative relative returns and valuation. Analyst Brian Kleinhanzl cut his rating to market perform from outperform, but kept his stock price target at $51, which is 14% above current levels. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index was up 0.3% and the SPDR Financial ETF gained 0.2% in morning trade, while shares of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. climbed 0.4%, of Bank of America Corp. rose 0.5% and of Wells Fargo & Co. tacked on 0.4%. “We are downgrading shares of Citigroup since we believe returns will remain range-bound near term and shares are not expected to outperform peers,” Kleinhanzl wrote in a note to clients. Citigroup’s stock surged 11% last week, after it was one of the few banks that beat first-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, and was the only the bank that has its “living will” approved unanimously. It has lost 14% year to date, while the financial ETF has slipped 3.7% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.2%.
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