First Citizens BancShares, Inc. to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $48.03 Per Share, Wedbush Forecasts (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) – Research analysts at Wedbush cut their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for shares of First Citizens BancShares in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, September 24th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now forecasts that the bank will post earnings of $48.03 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $48.24. Wedbush currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $2,150.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for First Citizens BancShares’ current full-year earnings is $200.92 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for First Citizens BancShares’ FY2024 earnings at $199.68 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $50.40 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $50.90 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $53.75 EPS.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $50.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $44.91 by $5.96. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 14.84%. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $52.60 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on FCNCA. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Raymond James raised First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,900.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,962.90.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

First Citizens BancShares stock opened at $1,876.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 0.82. First Citizens BancShares has a one year low of $1,274.91 and a one year high of $2,174.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1,954.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,768.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is currently 3.64%.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of First Citizens BancShares

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 1st quarter worth $49,000. 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.