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

Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2,243.64.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $2,100.00 to $2,500.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group assumed coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,700.00 target price for the company. Citigroup downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,025.00 to $2,625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the third quarter valued at $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 129.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 73 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the second quarter valued at about $126,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 2,100.0% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 88 shares of the bank’s stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of FCNCA opened at $2,153.14 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $2,131.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,962.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. First Citizens BancShares has a 12-month low of $1,363.97 and a 12-month high of $2,388.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.83.

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

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $1.95 dividend. This is a boost from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is currently 4.47%.

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.