First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Cut to Hold (C+) at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on FCNCA. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,240.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,250.00 to $1,950.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial set a $2,100.00 price objective on First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $2,410.00 price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,166.67.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $1,786.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,857.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,884.71. First Citizens BancShares has a twelve month low of $1,473.62 and a twelve month high of $2,412.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $44.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $41.51 by $3.11. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 15.99% and a return on equity of 11.06%. As a group, research analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares will post 167.59 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. This is a boost from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.95. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is 4.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. purchased 600 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1,698.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,019,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 32,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,869,625. The trade was a 1.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hope Holding Bryant purchased 409 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1,630.00 per share, with a total value of $666,670.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,875,320. This represents a 30.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 1,428 shares of company stock worth $2,371,476 over the last three months. 13.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCNCA. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the second quarter valued at $177,604,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the 1st quarter worth about $149,963,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 2,057.4% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 47,506 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,944,000 after buying an additional 45,304 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 390.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 48,299 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,995,000 after buying an additional 38,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP increased its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 124,773 shares of the bank’s stock worth $231,344,000 after buying an additional 22,257 shares in the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Citizens BancShares Company Profile

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.