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

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,700.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,600.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush decreased their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $2,100.00 to $2,500.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,025.00 to $2,625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2,243.64.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $2,070.94 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 market cap of $28.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $2,122.95 and its 200-day moving average is $1,948.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $55.92 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares will post 187.88 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $1.95 dividend. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 1,005.0% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 221 shares of the bank’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 625 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC raised its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 67.3% in the 2nd quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 348 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,014,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew 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 worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is 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.