We recently published a list of Billionaire Rob Citrone’s Top 10 Stock Picks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL) stands against other billionaire Rob Citrone’s top stock picks.
Robert K. Citrone is a well-known figure in the financial world. Rob, as many call him, is the co-founder of Discovery Capital Management, a hedge fund that has put the investor on the billionaires’ list. Others may remember him as one of the famous Tiger Cubs—former members of Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management who went on to establish their own successful hedge funds. Citrone also previously worked with George Soros, Fidelity Investments, and First Boston, where he focused on emerging markets. That focus hasn’t wavered since then.
Citrone’s voice matters a lot in the investment world. This has a lot to do with this hedge fund’s performance since its inception. In the last four quarters alone (up to Q4, 2024), for instance, the hedge fund has returned 48.03%. Citrone’s fund also managed to almost double its assets under management (AUM) in just one quarter; AUM grew from $0.8 billion in Q3 2024 to $1.5 billion in Q4 2024. The jump reflects a good year in the market, but that is just one way of looking at it. It is also evidence of renewed investor confidence in Citrone’s fund after a couple of ups and downs. For instance, the fund experienced negative returns in 2014 and 2015 and managed to reverse the trend in 2016.
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No wonder when Rob speaks, investors listen. And many have been following his comments on the prevailing market conditions, especially after Trump threw global trade in a spin with a salvo of tariffs. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal earlier this month, Citrone regretted not selling more stocks before Trump took on the globe in a trade war. “I should have sold more,” he said.
This comment is rich coming from an investor who has been bearish most of this year. The Tiger Cub trimmed by half his net equity exposure to the United States at the end of January this year. His goal then was to “get flat to short in the coming weeks primarily in developed markets.” The main reason for the bearish stance was an anticipation of volatility once Trump took office.
And it now looks like the billionaire is looking South. Recent reports indicate that Citrone is betting on Argentina. While on a trip to the country, Citrone said that the next ten years “will be the decade of Latin America and Argentina will lead that process. Milei is a very important example for Latin America, but more than that, he is important for the world and for the United States. That’s why we must do everything possible to help Argentina.” But that doesn’t mean he has given up on US equities. Citrone expects a shallower recession than previously thought and he believes that there will be “strong growth in the second half of the year.”
Our Methodology
This list was compiled by analyzing Discovery Capital Management’s Q4 2024 SEC 13F filings. From the 78 holdings, we ranked the stocks based on the value of the billionaire’s stake in them. We then picked the top 10 stocks with the highest stake value. We also considered institutional interest in the stocks as of Q4 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
An elderly couple smiling as they review their retirement accounts, representing the trust that clients have in the bank.
Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL)
Rob Citrone’s Latest Stake Value: $78,814,733
Number of Hedge Funds Holding Stakes: 24
Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL) is Argentina’s largest financial services company. The company operates Banco Galicia (a major private bank), Naranja X (a fintech platform), Galicia Seguros (insurance services), and Galicia Securities (investment solutions). Grupo Financiero Galicia SA has a Moderate Buy rating based on 1 buy rating and no hold or sell ratings. The average price target is $92.00, indicating a 53.23% increase from the current price of $60.04.
In the financial year 2024, Grupo Financiero Galicia’s (NASDAQ:GGAL) net income reached 1.6 trillion pesos ($1.33 billion), a remarkable 121% increase from the previous year. The company achieved a 34% return on average equity and a 7% return on average assets for the year. Fourth quarter 2024 results were particularly strong, with net income soaring to 574 billion pesos ($556.78 million), 203% higher year-over-year. This performance was bolstered by significant growth in the company’s loan portfolio, with peso-denominated loans increasing by 228.8% compared to the previous year. The successful acquisition of HSBC operations in Argentina has further strengthened Grupo Financiero Galicia’s (NASDAQ:GGAL) position as the leading private financial group in the country.
Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL) projects a more modest 15% real return on equity for 2025. This anticipated decline reflects the absence of extraordinary items that boosted 2024 results and the company’s focus on successfully integrating the HSBC acquisition. Nonetheless, the company’s management forecasts robust growth this year. It expects loans to increase by 50% and deposits by 35%.
Overall, GGAL ranks 2nd on our list of billionaire Rob Citrone’s top stock picks. While we acknowledge the potential of GGAL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GGAL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.