JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Stock

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,150 to $2,350, keeping a neutral rating and implying about 11.1% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views remain mixed overall: the stock has one Strong Buy, three Buy, and nine Hold ratings, with a consensus Hold and an average target price of $2,243.75.
• First Citizens BancShares recently reported better-than-expected EPS of $44.86, while CEO Frank B. Holding Jr. also bought 528 shares, adding to insider buying over the past 90 days.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $2,150.00 to $2,350.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the bank's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.11% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $2,154.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler set a $2,050.00 price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2,243.75.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Up 1.6%

FCNCA stock traded up $34.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $2,115.05. 3,590 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 90,619. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.62. First Citizens BancShares has a twelve month low of $1,623.76 and a twelve month high of $2,232.21. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $2,017.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2,022.17.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $44.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $43.31 by $1.55. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 11.48% and a net margin of 15.62%.The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $37.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 175.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Citizens BancShares

In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 528 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1,813.37 per share, for a total transaction of $957,459.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,100 shares in the company, valued at $116,237,017. This trade represents a 0.83% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 7,190 shares of company stock valued at $12,573,868. 14.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 117,518.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 205,833 shares of the bank's stock worth $441,755,000 after buying an additional 205,658 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the 4th quarter valued at $116,565,000. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 574.0% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 55,402 shares of the bank's stock worth $118,903,000 after acquiring an additional 47,182 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 2,057.4% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 47,506 shares of the bank's stock worth $92,944,000 after acquiring an additional 45,304 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 13,512.7% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 38,524 shares of the bank's stock worth $82,679,000 after purchasing an additional 38,241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.01% of the company's stock.

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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