Embattled banking giant Citigroup Inc. (C) on Tuesday caught a big upgrade from analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

The firm boosted its rating on C from “Market Perform” to “Outperform” and lifted its price target from $40 to $44. That new target suggests a healthy 34% upside to the stock’s Monday closing price of $32.75.

KBW also lifted its fourth quarter 2012 and full-year 2013 earnings estimates for the company, citing the run-off of Citi Holdings and better Basel III capital ratio. Citi Holdings consists of the company’s toxic assets. After failing to sell the assets of Citi Holdings, the company now appears ready to take large losses and move on.

Citigroup shares rose 44 cents, or +1.4%, in premarket trading Tuesday.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Citigroup (C) have a .12% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $32.75. The stock has technical support in the $28-$30 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $34-$35 price levels.

Citigroup Inc. (C) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.