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

Key Points

• Moderate Buy consensus from 14 analysts (8 hold, 5 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of about $2,227.08.
• CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. purchased 92 shares at $1,550 (raising his stake to 2,841 shares), and insiders now own about 14.63% of the company.
• First Citizens beat quarterly estimates—EPS $51.27 vs $44.24 expected and revenue $2.44B vs $2.24B—trades at a P/E of 12.01, and pays a $2.10 quarterly dividend ($8.40 annualized, ~0.4% yield).

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2,227.0833.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FCNCA shares. UBS Group set a $2,325.00 price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Friday, March 27th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,600.00 to $2,500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen raised First Citizens BancShares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,456.00 to $2,346.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th.

Insider Activity at First Citizens BancShares

In related news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 92 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1,550.00 per share, with a total value of $142,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at $4,403,550. This represents a 3.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 258 shares of company stock valued at $404,236. Corporate insiders own 14.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FCNCA. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the third quarter worth $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 100.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 16 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the period. Steph & Co. bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the third quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.01% of the company's stock.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of FCNCA opened at $1,989.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.65. First Citizens BancShares has a twelve month low of $1,581.27 and a twelve month high of $2,232.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,948.66 and a 200-day moving average of $1,944.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The bank reported $51.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $44.24 by $7.03. The company had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 15.21% and a return on equity of 11.18%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 167.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. First Citizens BancShares's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.07%.

About First Citizens BancShares

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.

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