First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on FCNCA. Barclays boosted their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of First Citizens BancShares stock opened at $1,974.07 on Monday. First Citizens BancShares has a fifty-two week low of $1,339.10 and a fifty-two week high of $2,174.80. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,945.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,832.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 0.81.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.40 by ($1.53). The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 14.84%. During the same period last year, the business posted $55.92 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 198.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $1.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is currently 4.33%.

First Citizens BancShares declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FCNCA. Catalina Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 3rd quarter worth about $201,000. Balentine LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the third quarter worth $3,564,000. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the third quarter worth about $677,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 93.9% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,585 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,441,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 6.9% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,760 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,922,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Citizens BancShares Company Profile

First Citizens BancShares, Inc operates as the holding company for First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and professionals. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts.