First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Plans Dividend Increase – $1.95 Per Share

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 22nd,Zacks Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of 1.95 per share by the bank on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This is a boost from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64.

First Citizens BancShares has increased its dividend by an average of 32.6% annually over the last three years. First Citizens BancShares has a dividend payout ratio of 4.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect First Citizens BancShares to earn $159.01 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.9%.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $2,308.48 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $2,033.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,901.75. 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 cap of $32.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 0.80. First Citizens BancShares has a twelve month low of $1,363.97 and a twelve month high of $2,388.78.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 17.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $55.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 187.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FCNCA. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,025.00 to $2,625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,093.40.

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.