Wedbush Downgrades First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) to Neutral

Wedbush lowered shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Wedbush currently has $2,150.00 price target on the bank’s stock, down from their previous price target of $2,450.00. Wedbush also issued estimates for First Citizens BancShares’ Q3 2024 earnings at $48.03 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $47.86 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $199.68 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $46.13 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $47.58 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $50.40 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $50.90 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $53.75 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $220.00 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on FCNCA. Raymond James raised First Citizens BancShares from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $1,900.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price 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 report on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a buy rating and a $2,005.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $1,962.90.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Up 2.1 %

FCNCA stock opened at $1,876.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $27.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 0.82. First Citizens BancShares has a 12 month low of $1,274.91 and a 12 month high of $2,174.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,954.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,768.40.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $50.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.91 by $5.96. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 14.84% and a net margin of 18.19%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $52.60 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 200.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 2.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 215 shares of the bank’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 0.5% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,199 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,019,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 450 shares of the bank’s stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 187 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Citizens BancShares

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.