First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $2,005.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on FCNCA. DA Davidson reiterated a neutral rating and set a $1,650.00 price objective (up from $1,600.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James raised First Citizens BancShares from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $1,900.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $1,850.00 to $1,950.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a buy rating and a $1,950.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an outperform rating and set a $2,100.00 target price (up previously from $1,900.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Friday, April 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $1,857.18.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of FCNCA stock opened at $1,748.90 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,706.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,593.26. The company has a market cap of $25.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 0.83. First Citizens BancShares has a 52 week low of $1,274.91 and a 52 week high of $1,810.03.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $52.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $44.27 by $8.65. The business had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 18.22%. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares will post 191.52 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Citizens BancShares

In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 484 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,750.12, for a total transaction of $847,058.08. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,290.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 1,000 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,757.27, for a total transaction of $1,757,270.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,345,955.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 484 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,750.12, for a total transaction of $847,058.08. Following the transaction, the director now owns 335 shares in the company, valued at $586,290.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,273,568. Corporate insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Modera Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 3rd quarter valued at $214,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,010,749 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,394,935,000 after acquiring an additional 17,142 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 4th quarter valued at $11,235,000. Symmetry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 439 shares of the bank’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter worth $1,690,000. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.