First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Downgraded by Citigroup to Hold

Citigroup downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on FCNCA. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,025.00 to $2,625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group started coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,700.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $2,100.00 to $2,500.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2,243.64.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of FCNCA stock opened at $2,070.94 on Tuesday. First Citizens BancShares has a twelve month low of $1,363.97 and a twelve month high of $2,388.78. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $2,122.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,948.22. The company has a market cap of $28.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.83.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.40 by ($1.53). The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 17.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $55.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 187.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $1.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the third quarter valued at $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 129.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62 shares of the bank’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 73 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the second quarter valued at about $126,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 2,100.0% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 88 shares of the bank’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.