First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $2,202.0833.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FCNCA. UBS Group set a $2,325.00 price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,200.00 to $2,150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,375.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,951.93 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The company has a market capitalization of $23.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.63. First Citizens BancShares has a twelve month low of $1,623.76 and a twelve month high of $2,232.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,926.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,973.76.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $44.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $43.31 by $1.55. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 15.62%.The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $37.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares will post 176.04 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is currently 4.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. purchased 134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1,550.00 per share, for a total transaction of $207,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,260,950. This trade represents a 5.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 258 shares of company stock worth $404,236. 14.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Citizens BancShares

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 21.7% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 28 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. MBL Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. MBL Wealth LLC now owns 622 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 4.1% in the third quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 154 shares of the bank’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 40.0% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 21 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in First Citizens BancShares by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 233 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.