Wedbush Lowers First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) to Neutral

Wedbush downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Wedbush currently has $2,150.00 price objective on the bank’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $2,450.00. Wedbush also issued estimates for First Citizens BancShares’ Q3 2024 earnings at $48.03 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $47.86 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $199.68 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $46.13 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $47.58 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $50.40 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $50.90 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $53.75 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $220.00 EPS.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on FCNCA. Raymond James raised First Citizens BancShares from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $1,900.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a buy rating and a $2,005.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $1,962.90.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,876.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. First Citizens BancShares has a 1 year low of $1,274.91 and a 1 year high of $2,174.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,954.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,768.40. The firm has a market cap of $27.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 0.82.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $50.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.91 by $5.96. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 14.84% and a net margin of 18.19%. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $52.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares will post 200.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.64%.

Institutional Trading of First Citizens BancShares

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at about $298,180,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 4.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,064,822 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,740,984,000 after acquiring an additional 47,167 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,563 shares of the bank’s stock worth $339,933,000 after purchasing an additional 41,793 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 3,577.5% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 35,010 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,943,000 after purchasing an additional 34,058 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 225.2% in the second quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 42,159 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,979,000 after purchasing an additional 29,194 shares during the period. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.