First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $1.53 EPS

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $45.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.40 by ($1.53), RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 14.84% and a net margin of 18.19%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $55.92 EPS.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Up 0.1 %

FCNCA stock traded up $1.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,881.83. The company had a trading volume of 133,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,645. First Citizens BancShares has a 52 week low of $1,339.10 and a 52 week high of $2,174.80. The company has a market cap of $27.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,951.59 and a 200 day moving average of $1,822.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.95 per share. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is 3.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCNCA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of 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. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.