First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on FCNCA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wedbush cut their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group started coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,700.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $2,500.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,600.00 target price on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,290.75.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $2,188.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $30.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $2,167.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2,018.15. First Citizens BancShares has a twelve month low of $1,371.77 and a twelve month high of $2,388.78.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $47.40 by ($1.53). The company had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 17.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $55.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares will post 186.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $1.95 dividend. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.47%.

Institutional Trading of First Citizens BancShares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCNCA. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 11.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 323,532 shares of the bank’s stock worth $595,607,000 after buying an additional 33,713 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 6.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 288,960 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $531,961,000 after purchasing an additional 18,501 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 15.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 58,529 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,749,000 after purchasing an additional 7,613 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 57,981 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $122,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,156 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $86,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares in the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.