First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Downgraded to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

FCNCA has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,300.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2,300.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $2,100.00 to $2,200.00 in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Truist Financial increased their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,050.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,238.27.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of FCNCA stock opened at $1,990.69 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. First Citizens BancShares has a one year low of $1,473.62 and a one year high of $2,232.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $2,117.44 and its 200 day moving average is $1,949.24.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The bank reported $51.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $44.24 by $7.03. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 15.21% and a return on equity of 11.12%. Sell-side analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares will post 167.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. bought 135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1,629.67 per share, for a total transaction of $220,005.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,118,176.09. This trade represents a 5.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 13.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Citizens BancShares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 100.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 16 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Company Profile

First Citizens BancShares, Inc is the bank holding company for First Citizens Bank, a full?service commercial bank headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company traces its roots to a community bank founded in 1898 and has grown into a diversified financial services organization that operates through its banking subsidiary to serve retail, commercial and institutional clients.

First Citizens offers a broad suite of banking products and services, including consumer and business deposit accounts, commercial and industrial lending, real estate and mortgage lending, treasury and cash management, and specialized lending solutions.