First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Raised to Outperform at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was upgraded by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $2,500.00 target price on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.14% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,025.00 to $2,625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,250.00 to $2,456.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,290.75.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of FCNCA stock opened at $2,152.52 on Tuesday. First Citizens BancShares has a 52-week low of $1,363.97 and a 52-week high of $2,388.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $30.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $2,167.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2,011.73.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 17.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $55.92 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 188.21 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCNCA. Jackson Square Capital LLC acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter valued at $999,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter valued at about $427,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 28 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in First Citizens BancShares by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 494 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 214 shares of the bank’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is owned by 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.