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

Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $2,340.33.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FCNCA. Piper Sandler raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $2,250.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen cut First Citizens BancShares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $2,400.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,568.00 to $2,400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,535.00 to $2,200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of First Citizens BancShares stock opened at $1,818.68 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,806.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,963.15. The stock has a market cap of $24.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. 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 12-month low of $1,473.62 and a 12-month high of $2,412.93.

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

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $1.95 per share. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. First Citizens BancShares's payout ratio is presently 4.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. bought 350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,610.00 per share, for a total transaction of $563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,758 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,380. This trade represents a 14.53% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 13.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of First Citizens BancShares

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FCNCA. Norges Bank bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter worth $298,426,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 169,861.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 122,372 shares of the bank's stock worth $226,892,000 after buying an additional 122,300 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 392,097 shares of the bank's stock worth $828,510,000 after acquiring an additional 103,137 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at about $149,963,000. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 78.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 172,723 shares of the bank's stock worth $364,967,000 after acquiring an additional 75,785 shares in the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is 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.

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