First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Hold Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on FCNCA. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,000.00 to $2,100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group set a $2,325.00 price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,456.00 to $2,346.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,300.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,238.27.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

First Citizens BancShares stock opened at $1,884.66 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.68. First Citizens BancShares has a one year low of $1,473.62 and a one year high of $2,232.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,968.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,941.84.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The bank reported $51.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.24 by $7.03. The company had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 11.18% and a net margin of 15.21%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 167.59 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. purchased 92 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1,550.00 per share, for a total transaction of $142,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,403,550. This trade represents a 3.35% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders bought a total of 258 shares of company stock worth $404,236 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FCNCA. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in First Citizens BancShares by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 15 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 100.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 16 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About First Citizens BancShares

First Citizens BancShares, Inc is the bank holding company for First Citizens Bank, a full‑service commercial bank headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company traces its roots to a community bank founded in 1898 and has grown into a diversified financial services organization that operates through its banking subsidiary to serve retail, commercial and institutional clients.

First Citizens offers a broad suite of banking products and services, including consumer and business deposit accounts, commercial and industrial lending, real estate and mortgage lending, treasury and cash management, and specialized lending solutions.