First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on FCNCA. 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 initiated coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Up 18.3 %

NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $2,272.62 on Tuesday. First Citizens BancShares has a 12-month low of $1,363.97 and a 12-month high of $2,275.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.80. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,946.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,848.89.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its earnings results 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). 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 net margin of 17.36% and a return on equity of 13.78%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $55.92 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares will post 189.06 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares declared that its Board of Directors 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 buy up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 4.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,064,822 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,740,984,000 after buying an additional 47,167 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the 1st quarter worth about $298,180,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its position in First Citizens BancShares by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 56,798 shares of the bank’s stock worth $104,562,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in First Citizens BancShares by 225.2% in the 2nd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 42,159 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,979,000 after purchasing an additional 29,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP increased its position in First Citizens BancShares by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 37,998 shares of the bank’s stock worth $63,974,000 after purchasing an additional 5,467 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

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.