First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $2,050.00 target price on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on FCNCA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen started coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,400.00 price objective for the company. Cowen started coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,568.00 to $2,400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $2,250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,340.33.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Down 1.0%

FCNCA opened at $1,822.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1,792.52 and its 200 day moving average is $2,006.53. First Citizens BancShares has a fifty-two week low of $1,473.62 and a fifty-two week high of $2,412.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.62, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $37.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $37.72 by $0.07. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Research analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares will post 167.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Citizens BancShares news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1,610.00 per share, for a total transaction of $563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,440,380. This trade represents a 14.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Craig L. Nix bought 17 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1,881.13 per share, with a total value of $31,979.21. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,146,369.33. This trade represents a 1.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Citizens BancShares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FCNCA. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 241 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 121,583 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $225,429,000 after purchasing an additional 14,060 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 392 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $727,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 37,389 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,324,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 284.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 950 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the period. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by 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.