Citigroup, Qualcomm: Stocks to Watch

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- These stocks were in the headlines ahead of Monday's trading session:

Citigroup(C) :

Citigroup reported second-quarter earnings of $2.95 billion, or 95 cents a share, on revenue of $18.64 billion. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters is for a profit of 89 cents a share on revenue of $18.76 billion.

Excluding one-time items, the bank earned $3.08 billion, or $1 per share, in the latest quarter.

"Our core businesses performed well in a difficult environment and are generating solid returns," said Vikram Pandit, Citigroup's CEO, in a press release. "We had strong growth in both loans and deposits, showed resilience in our markets-facing businesses, and saw record revenues in Transaction Services. We reduced Citi Holdings to approximately 10% of our balance sheet while our capital strength and liquidity continue to be among the best in the industry. We remain focused on execution, managing our expenses and our risk, and serving clients as only we can."

Also, news surfaced over the weekend that Citigroup reportedly plans to seek permission to increase its dividend by the end of this year. The bank currently has a minimal penny per share quarterly payout following the financial crisis.

"I believe we will be in good shape and have the capital to be able to do that by the end of the year," Pandit reportedly told U.K. newspaper Sunday Telegraph. "That's a decision that will have to be taken with our regulators and we will have those conversations at the end of the year."

Citigroup shares closed Friday at $26.65, down nearly 4% year-to-date. The stock was last quoted at $27.27, up 2.3%, on volume of more than 1.6 million, according to Nasdaq.com.

Qualcomm(QCOM) :

Qualcomm was upgrade to hold from sell at Societe Generale early Monday with the firm arguing that uncertainties ahead of the company's fiscal third-quarter report appear to be "priced in" at current levels.