Wall Street Zen Downgrades First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) to Sell

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $2,410.00 price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler set a $2,150.00 price target on First Citizens BancShares and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup lifted their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $1,900.00 to $2,050.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,291.17.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $1,850.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,946.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,887.80. The stock has a market cap of $23.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.71. First Citizens BancShares has a 52 week low of $1,473.62 and a 52 week high of $2,412.93.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The bank reported $44.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.08 by $5.70. The business had revenue of $2.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 11.32% and a net margin of 16.37%. As a group, analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 167.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Hope Holding Bryant purchased 409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1,630.00 per share, for a total transaction of $666,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,875,320. The trade was a 30.18% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. purchased 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1,698.75 per share, with a total value of $1,019,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 32,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,869,625. This represents a 1.89% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 1,494 shares of company stock worth $2,485,986. Corporate insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCNCA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 54.5% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 17 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 3.8% in the first quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 163 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 35.3% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 23 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 4.0% in the second quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 156 shares of the bank’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% 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.