Citigroup stock ended the week with a good day up to $4.85. Citigroup has had to crawl with their hands open for bailout money twice and they still have major issues. But is Citigroup a stock you should invest in?

Financial institutions led us into recession and they must lead us out. The general economy cannot recover without the restoration of the nation's financial system. Until credit and mortgage markets rebound, we will be stuck in the "new normal" of where we are now. So essentially, whether or not you invest in bank stocks is basically a question of whether or not you are a pessimist or an optimist in general.

In general, I see the economy rebounding, not overnight, but not in 30 years either. History will teach you that we have experienced similar times before and we will face similar times again. Historically speaking then, stocks like Citigroup for 5 dollars seems to be a steal as long as you're investing money you do not need for the next 5 years. Let's look at some more numbers.

Citigroup's fundamentals are horrid. According to Scottrade.com, they currently have a net profit margin of 23.7% and a long term debt to equity ration of 2.27. Add to that an earnings-per-share of 4.38 and you have the recipe for a portfolio ruining stock on your hands. Or do you? Remember the most important factor to look at is value. If you buy a stock for what it's worth, you won't become rich. You make money by investing in stocks that are worth more than they are priced. And this could even mean buying a beleagured bank stock. Yes, the numbers look horrible, but the price is 10 times less than it was just 2 years ago.

If you are a buy-and-hold value investor Citigroup stock is a good buy at the current price. In a situation like this the only real question to ask is, "Can they survive?" If the answer is yes, then you are looking at a stock that will most assuredly double in the next few years. Standard & Poors report looks for Citigroup to grow over the next 12 months to a target price of 6.50.Reuter's Research Report also supports my opinion by predicting that Citigroup will outperform the market in every category except technical factors. Citigroup stock is priced much less than it is worth though at any rate. So it may look bleak to you now for Citigroup stock, but this company isn't going anywhere Think of them as bruised bananas for 10 cents a pound--just cut out the bad parts and you've got a pretty good value!

Sources:
https://trading.scottrade.com/quotesresearch/ScottradeResearch.aspx?symbol=c
https://research.scottrade.com/research/common/pdf.asp?docKey=24-A1CB9
https://research.scottrade.com/research/common/pdf.asp?sym=C&reportType=SNPReport