Wedbush Trims First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Target Price to $2,000.00

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) had its price objective lowered by Wedbush from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a neutral rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on FCNCA. Barclays raised their target price on 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. StockNews.com lowered First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group started 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. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,900.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,881.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. First Citizens BancShares has a 1 year low of $1,339.10 and a 1 year high of $2,174.80. The company has a market cap of $27.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,948.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,827.43.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.40 by ($1.53). First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 14.84%. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $55.92 EPS. On average, analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares will post 198.72 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $1.95 dividend. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is currently 3.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 21.6% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 29,077 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,172 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,492 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,709,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 2,583.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 805 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 67.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 6,067 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 300.0% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 800 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. 61.18% 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.