First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have given First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) an average rating of "Moderate Buy", with nine analysts recommending a buy and five a hold.
• The company's stock target prices vary, with Piper Sandler setting a target of $2,150 and Goldman Sachs reducing theirs to $1,950, indicating some divergence in analyst outlooks.
• First Citizens BancShares recently reported quarterly earnings of $44.78 per share, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.95 per share, reflecting a 0.5% yield.

Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $2,227.6923.

FCNCA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $2,150.00 target price on First Citizens BancShares and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded First Citizens BancShares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, September 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $2,100.00 target price on First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, October 7th.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Up 3.4%

NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,695.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The stock's 50 day moving average is $1,873.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,877.37. The company has a market capitalization of $21.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 0.60. First Citizens BancShares has a 1-year low of $1,473.62 and a 1-year high of $2,412.93.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The bank reported $44.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $39.08 by $5.70. The company had revenue of $2.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 11.32% and a net margin of 16.37%. Equities analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 167.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. First Citizens BancShares's dividend payout ratio is currently 4.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Olivia Britton Holding acquired 409 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1,630.00 per share, with a total value of $666,670.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 1,764 shares in the company, valued at $2,875,320. This represents a 30.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 600 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1,698.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,019,250.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 32,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,869,625. This represents a 1.89% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 1,494 shares of company stock valued at $2,485,986. 13.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCNCA. Steph & Co. acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. MAI Capital Management raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 500.0% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 18 shares of the bank's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 35.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 23 shares of the bank's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during 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 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.