Citigroup Upgrades First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) to "Strong-Buy"

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Citigroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut First Citizens BancShares from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $2,100.00 to $2,500.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $2,600.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on 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. Wedbush cut their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $2,157.64.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

NASDAQ:FCNCA traded down $24.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $2,096.95. The stock had a trading volume of 66,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,496. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $2,101.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,934.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. First Citizens BancShares has a one year low of $1,363.97 and a one year high of $2,388.78.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 17.36%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $55.92 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 187.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 95.6% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,158 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,132,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,400,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 3.4% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 735 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 1.0% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the third quarter valued at $6,259,000. Institutional investors own 78.01% of the company's stock.

First Citizens BancShares Company Profile

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.