First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

FCNCA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,456.00 to $2,346.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,000.00 to $2,100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $2,100.00 to $2,200.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,238.27.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

FCNCA opened at $2,060.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. First Citizens BancShares has a 52-week low of $1,473.62 and a 52-week high of $2,232.21. The firm has a market cap of $25.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s fifty day moving average is $2,117.51 and its 200-day moving average is $1,950.02.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The bank reported $51.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.24 by $7.03. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 15.21% and a return on equity of 11.12%. Sell-side analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares will post 167.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is presently 5.07%.

Insider Activity

In other First Citizens BancShares news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. purchased 135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1,629.67 per share, for a total transaction of $220,005.45. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 2,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,118,176.09. This trade represents a 5.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCNCA. Beartown Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter worth about $2,146,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 620 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,600,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 631 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,360,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,687 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,399,000 after acquiring an additional 4,084 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Company Profile

First Citizens BancShares, Inc is the bank holding company for First Citizens Bank, a full‑service commercial bank headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company traces its roots to a community bank founded in 1898 and has grown into a diversified financial services organization that operates through its banking subsidiary to serve retail, commercial and institutional clients.

First Citizens offers a broad suite of banking products and services, including consumer and business deposit accounts, commercial and industrial lending, real estate and mortgage lending, treasury and cash management, and specialized lending solutions.