Wedbush Lowers First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Price Target to $2,000.00

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Wedbush from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the bank’s stock. Wedbush’s price target suggests a potential upside of 7.69% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on FCNCA. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James raised First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,900.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,995.44.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of FCNCA stock traded down $22.81 on Friday, reaching $1,857.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,079. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,951.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,822.63. First Citizens BancShares has a 1 year low of $1,339.10 and a 1 year high of $2,174.80. The company has a market capitalization of $26.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $47.40 by ($1.53). The company had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 14.84%. During the same period last year, the business posted $55.92 EPS. Analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 200 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the second quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 120.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 66 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 61.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.