First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. First Citizens BancShares traded as high as $2,146.77 and last traded at $2,146.77, with a volume of 2470 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $2,110.45.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on FCNCA. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,650.00 target price (up from $1,600.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $1,850.00 to $1,950.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,893.55.

Insider Transactions at First Citizens BancShares

In related news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 516 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,750.00, for a total value of $903,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 819 shares in the company, valued at $1,433,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,750.12, for a total transaction of $847,058.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,290.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 516 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,750.00, for a total value of $903,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,433,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FCNCA. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 187 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,014,000. WealthShield Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 67.3% during the 2nd quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 348 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 1,005.0% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 221 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $30.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,736.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,628.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $50.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $44.91 by $5.96. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 18.19%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $52.60 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 192.23 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is 3.64%.

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.