First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2,093.40.

FCNCA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,025.00 to $2,625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the second quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 120.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 66 shares of the bank’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of FCNCA stock opened at $2,295.00 on Wednesday. First Citizens BancShares has a twelve month low of $1,363.97 and a twelve month high of $2,388.78. The stock has a market cap of $32.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2,055.78 and a 200 day moving average of $1,913.78. 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 (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $47.40 by ($1.53). The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 17.36% and a return on equity of 13.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $55.92 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares will post 187.88 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $1.95 dividend. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is 3.76%.

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.