Piper Sandler Downgrades First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) to Neutral

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was downgraded by analysts at Piper Sandler from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $1,950.00 target price on the bank’s stock, up from their prior target price of $1,850.00. Piper Sandler’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.14% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,800.00 target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays assumed coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $1,850.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,644.00 to $1,754.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,950.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,829.90.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of FCNCA opened at $1,754.50 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,582.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,480.23. The firm has a market cap of $25.48 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.89. First Citizens BancShares has a 12-month low of $945.32 and a 12-month high of $1,810.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The bank reported $46.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $48.49 by ($1.91). The company had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 18.22%. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares will post 179.92 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. purchased 622 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1,315.00 per share, with a total value of $817,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 97,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $128,355,835. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other First Citizens BancShares news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. bought 622 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,315.00 per share, with a total value of $817,930.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 97,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $128,355,835. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,559.09, for a total value of $935,454.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,549,113.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought 1,388 shares of company stock worth $1,825,220 in the last quarter. 13.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McCollum Christoferson Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the first quarter valued at $204,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter worth about $280,000. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 103.4% in the first quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 59 shares of the bank’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at $293,000. 61.18% of the stock is currently 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.