First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,836.00.

FCNCA has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,650.00 target price (up from $1,600.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,950.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler downgraded First Citizens BancShares from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $1,850.00 to $1,950.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays increased their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $1,850.00 to $1,950.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

FCNCA opened at $1,683.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.35 and a beta of 0.84. First Citizens BancShares has a 52-week low of $1,232.00 and a 52-week high of $1,810.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $1,701.66 and its 200-day moving average is $1,574.41.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $52.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $44.27 by $8.65. The company had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 18.22%. Sell-side analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares will post 188.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,757.27, for a total value of $1,757,270.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,345,955.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,757.27, for a total transaction of $1,757,270.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,345,955.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,750.12, for a total value of $847,058.08. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,290.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,273,568. Insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Citizens BancShares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCNCA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,064,822 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,740,984,000 after acquiring an additional 47,167 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 262,267 shares of the bank’s stock worth $361,956,000 after acquiring an additional 13,658 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,563 shares of the bank’s stock worth $339,933,000 after acquiring an additional 41,793 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 186,822 shares of the bank’s stock worth $265,120,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the 1st quarter worth about $298,180,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

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.