First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on FCNCA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,600.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $2,100.00 to $2,500.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush reduced 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 note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2,290.75.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Down 1.1 %

FCNCA stock opened at $2,094.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. First Citizens BancShares has a 12 month low of $1,363.97 and a 12 month high of $2,388.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $2,153.54 and its 200 day moving average is $1,995.31.

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). First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 17.36% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $55.92 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares will post 188.21 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCNCA. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 323,532 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $595,607,000 after acquiring an additional 33,713 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 288,960 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $531,961,000 after purchasing an additional 18,501 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 15.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 58,529 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $107,749,000 after purchasing an additional 7,613 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 0.7% in the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 56,798 shares of the bank’s stock worth $104,562,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 2.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,156 shares of the bank’s stock worth $86,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares during the period. 78.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.