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

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $2,336.58.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,535.00 to $2,200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,303.00 to $2,384.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Down 1.0%

FCNCA opened at $1,918.20 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. First Citizens BancShares has a 1-year low of $1,473.62 and a 1-year high of $2,412.93. The company has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.13, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,792.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2,008.81.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $37.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $37.72 by $0.07. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 167.59 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Citizens BancShares

In related news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1,610.00 per share, with a total value of $563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,380. This represents a 14.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Craig L. Nix acquired 17 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1,881.13 per share, for a total transaction of $31,979.21. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 1,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,146,369.33. This represents a 1.51% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 13.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 19.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,195 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,158 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 6.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 288,960 shares of the bank’s stock worth $531,961,000 after buying an additional 18,501 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 494 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,044,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter worth $427,000. Finally, Solidarity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter worth $1,690,000. 78.01% of the stock is currently 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.