Citadel again sells its shares in E*Trade online brokerage

Citadel is selling about 24 million shares in the US online brokerage company E*Trade Corp which sent E*Trade’s shares down 5.9%.

A Citadel investment Group affiliate launched an underwritten offering, set to close March 1, that would reduce the Chicago-based fund's stake to about 18 percent of E*Trade, from about 27 percent currently, according to a regulatory filing late on Wednesday.

Previously Citadel already reduced its 50% stake in E*Trade. Now the move sent shares of E*Trade Financial Corp (ETFC.O) down 98 cents to $15.67 -- its lowest level in a month.

"Shares of E*Trade could trade lower over the next few days if investors view that an acquisition of E*Trade is less likely in the near to mid-term due to Citadel's sale," Joel Jeffrey, analyst at KBW, wrote in a client note.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) is the underwriter of the share sale.