First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) to Buy Back $1.20 billion in Outstanding Stock

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, October 23rd, RTT News reports. The company plans to buy back $1.20 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on FCNCA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Fundamental Research set a $2,350.00 price target on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,323.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2,344.00.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:FCNCA traded down $30.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $2,345.61. 142,936 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 75,857. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $26.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $2,137.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,061.06. First Citizens BancShares has a 1 year low of $1,735.03 and a 1 year high of $2,429.96.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 23rd. The bank reported $55.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $46.18 by $9.19. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 16.54%. The company had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 193.20 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. This is a positive change from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.49%.

Insider Activity at First Citizens BancShares

In other First Citizens BancShares news, major shareholder Olivia Britton Holding sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total transaction of $136,710.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $292,950. This represents a 31.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Diane Morais purchased 50 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $2,168.11 per share, with a total value of $108,405.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 100 shares in the company, valued at $216,811. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 14.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Citizens BancShares Company Profile

First Citizens BancShares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Its principal subsidiary, First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutions through a network of branches and digital banking channels.

The bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and residential lending, commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment services.