First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Upgraded by Piper Sandler to Overweight Rating

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $2,250.00 target price on the bank’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on FCNCA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,025.00 to $2,625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,303.00 to $2,384.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,323.50.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of FCNCA stock opened at $1,728.36 on Tuesday. First Citizens BancShares has a 12-month low of $1,505.73 and a 12-month high of $2,412.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $2,107.06 and a 200-day moving average of $2,067.45.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $45.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.32 by $5.78. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 18.55%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 167.59 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.95 per share. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Craig L. Nix acquired 17 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1,881.13 per share, with a total value of $31,979.21. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,146,369.33. The trade was a 1.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP now owns 3,230 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,946,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Retireful LLC acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the third quarter worth about $801,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 6.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 288,960 shares of the bank’s stock worth $531,961,000 after acquiring an additional 18,501 shares in the last quarter. Check Capital Management Inc. CA raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Check Capital Management Inc. CA now owns 33,599 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,995,000 after acquiring an additional 5,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in First Citizens BancShares by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 3,663 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,811,000 after purchasing an additional 157 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 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.