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

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,774.83.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FCNCA shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,800.00 price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday, January 29th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,950.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $1,644.00 to $1,754.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th.

Insider Activity

In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 600 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,559.09, for a total value of $935,454.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,549,113.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 600 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,559.09, for a total value of $935,454.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,842 shares in the company, valued at $7,549,113.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. bought 622 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,315.00 per share, with a total value of $817,930.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 97,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,355,835. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 1,388 shares of company stock worth $1,825,220. 13.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 832 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 122.2% during the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,838,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the 4th quarter valued at $1,000,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,017,655 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,444,022,000 after acquiring an additional 6,906 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,635.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. First Citizens BancShares has a 1-year low of $910.25 and a 1-year high of $1,651.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,529.95 and a 200-day moving average of $1,442.69.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The bank reported $46.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $48.49 by ($1.91). The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 51.04% and a return on equity of 13.52%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares will post 177.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is 0.84%.

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.