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

Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,768.63.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FCNCA shares. StockNews.com cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,950.00 price objective for the company. Barclays started coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $1,850.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,800.00 price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1,650.00 price objective (up from $1,600.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of FCNCA opened at $1,537.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,559.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,464.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $22.33 billion, a PE ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.89. First Citizens BancShares has a fifty-two week low of $945.32 and a fifty-two week high of $1,651.73.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The bank reported $46.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $48.49 by ($1.91). First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 51.04% and a return on equity of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 178.72 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 0.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,559.09, for a total value of $935,454.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,549,113.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Olivia Britton Holding acquired 466 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1,315.00 per share, with a total value of $612,790.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,027,610. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,559.09, for a total transaction of $935,454.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,549,113.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 1,388 shares of company stock valued at $1,825,220. Company insiders own 12.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 145.4% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,406 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 3,091.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 23,905 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,203,000 after acquiring an additional 23,156 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 56,803 shares of the bank’s stock worth $80,602,000 after acquiring an additional 5,952 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 49.1% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 47,287 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,261,000 after acquiring an additional 15,579 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 90.9% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,132 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

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.