Friday, March 4, 2011

Bank of America (BAC) Downgrades Citi (C), Goldman (GS)

Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) were downgraded by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) analyst Guy Moszkowski, citing weak results in the first quarter.

Moszkowski said in the note to clients, "Results [are] unlikely to be dismal, and should show improvement over Q4, but we don't expect seasonal improvement as strong [and] as often seen in the past. Client engagement remains subdued, Mid-East turmoil likely only to further reduce customer risk appetite."

Also noted were the effects of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which will probably drive investors to financial institutions like The Blackstone Group (NYSE:BX), KKR (NYSE:KKR) and Lazard (NYSE:LAZ), which benefit from the new rules, or at minimum aren't affected as much by them.

Citigroup was trading at $4.57, down $0.11, or 2.46 percent, as of 12:03 PM EST. Goldman Sachs was trading at $161.91, down $2.58, or 1.57 percent.

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