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

Key Points

• First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with six firms rating it as a hold and seven as a buy.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.95, to be paid on September 15th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%.
• Shares of First Citizens BancShares have a current market capitalization of $25.88 billion and reported quarterly earnings of $44.78 EPS, surpassing estimates by $5.70.

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $2,291.1667.

Several equities analysts have commented on FCNCA shares. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $2,050.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $1,900.00 to $2,050.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $2,410.00 price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Wednesday, July 9th.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Olivia Britton Holding bought 409 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1,630.00 per share, for a total transaction of $666,670.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,875,320. The trade was a 30.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Hope Holding Bryant bought 409 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1,630.00 per share, for a total transaction of $666,670.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,875,320. The trade was a 30.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 1,494 shares of company stock worth $2,485,986 over the last 90 days. 13.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCNCA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 54.5% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 17 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the first quarter valued at $35,000. MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 500.0% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 18 shares of the bank's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the first quarter valued at $44,000. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

First Citizens BancShares stock traded down $19.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1,983.91. 148,796 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 156,520. The firm has a market cap of $25.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1,998.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,897.38. 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 earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The bank reported $44.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.08 by $5.70. The firm had revenue of $2.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.21 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 11.32%. As a group, analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 167.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $1.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. First Citizens BancShares's dividend payout ratio is 4.60%.

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.