First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

FCNCA has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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 note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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 note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FCNCA traded down $11.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $2,152.02. 82,152 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 87,549. First Citizens BancShares has a 1-year low of $1,363.97 and a 1-year high of $2,275.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,967.24 and a 200 day moving average of $1,867.87.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $47.40 by ($1.53). First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 17.36%. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $55.92 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares will post 189.06 EPS for the current year.

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

Institutional Trading of First Citizens BancShares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the first quarter worth about $298,180,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in First Citizens BancShares by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,064,822 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,740,984,000 after purchasing an additional 47,167 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 3,577.5% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 35,010 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,943,000 after acquiring an additional 34,058 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 11.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 323,532 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $595,607,000 after buying an additional 33,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 29,194 shares during the last quarter. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.