Thursday, January 17, 2013

Stocks to Watch: Big earnings on Thursday: Citi, B. of A., Intel

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) � Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. were among the companies that reported quarterly results Thursday.

THE REST OF THE STORY: MOVERS & SHAKERS
More about stocks to watch during trading day in Movers & Shakers /conga/story/misc/stw_movers.html231093

Net profit for the Charlotte-based Bank of America BAC , a Dow Jones Industrial Average component, fell 63% from the final three months of 2011. The results included a handful of one-time charges. Read more on Bank of America results.

Citigroup�s C fourth-quarter revenue came up short of analysts� consensus forecast. Read more about Citigroup.

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Another standout was BlackRock Inc. BLK , which saw its assets under management at nearly $3.8 trillion at year�s end. Along with scoring 24% growth in fourth-quarter earnings, BlackRock announced a 12% hike in its dividend and replenished its stock-buyback program to the tune of 7.5 million shares. Read more on BlackRock.

Regional banks were well represented among the ranks of companies handing in their quarterly report cards before the bell Thursday.

Fifth Third Bancorp FITB , for one, posted a solidly higher fourth-quarter profit, citing broad-based business improvement. Read more about Fifth Third.

Separately, BB&T Corp. BBT �generated 20% profit growth for the fourth quarter, although net interest margin narrowed. Read more on BB&T.

/quotes/zigman/627445 BKX 53.62, +0.08, +0.15% /quotes/zigman/190927/quotes/nls/bac BAC 11.28, -0.50, -4.24% /quotes/zigman/5065548/quotes/nls/c C 41.24, -1.24, -2.92%

And a stronger fourth-quarter profit for Huntington Bancshares Inc. HBAN �reflected both a lower provision for bad loans and improved net interest margin. Read more on Huntington Bancshares.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH �posted a modest drop in fourth-quarter net income as revenue improved to nearly $29 billion. Profit of $1.20 a share matched the analyst consensus for the Minneapolis-based provider of managed-care services. UnitedHealth, part of the Dow industrials DJIA , also affirmed its profit earnings and revenue forecast for 2013. Read more on UnitedHealth.

Later Thursday, fellow Dow component American Express Co. AXP is likely to post earnings of $1.11 a share in the fourth quarter.

Capital One Financial Corp. COF is forecast to earn $1.59 a share for the fourth quarter.

After Thursday�s bell, blue chip Intel Corp. INTC is forecast to post fourth-quarter earnings of 45 cents a share. Read: Intel bulls should hope it made fewer chips.

Market sentiment for the chip manufacturer is expected to remain bearish after its earnings release because of lackluster PC demand and risk of slightly elevated inventories, wrote Doug Freedman, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets. Read: Intel to feel heat from PC slump, transition.

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