The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Stock

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $2,025.00 to $2,625.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the bank’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.13% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush cut their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,093.40.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Down 0.5 %

First Citizens BancShares stock opened at $2,341.02 on Tuesday. First Citizens BancShares has a 12-month low of $1,363.97 and a 12-month high of $2,388.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.75 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $2,016.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,893.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.40 by ($1.53). First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 17.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $55.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares will post 187.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,769 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,339,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 903 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 592 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $968,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 62.6% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 3,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,474 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 1,271.4% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 384 shares of the bank’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. 61.18% 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.