First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $2,190.00 and last traded at $2,191.12, with a volume of 37545 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,921.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $32.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,940.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,845.91.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $47.40 by ($1.53). The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 17.36% and a return on equity of 13.78%. During the same period last year, the company earned $55.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 189.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $1.95 dividend. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is 4.47%.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of First Citizens BancShares

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 1st quarter valued at $221,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 16.4% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $581,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 19.4% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,492 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,709,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 16.4% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,167 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,178,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 97.6% during the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,694 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,310,000 after acquiring an additional 2,813 shares during the period. 61.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.