First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Increases Dividend to $1.95 Per Share

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 24th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of 1.95 per share by the bank on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64.

First Citizens BancShares has increased its dividend by an average of 32.6% annually over the last three years. First Citizens BancShares has a dividend payout ratio of 3.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First Citizens BancShares to earn $192.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 3.4%.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,879.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,951.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,822.63. First Citizens BancShares has a 1 year low of $1,290.60 and a 1 year high of $2,174.80. The firm has a market cap of $27.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.81.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) 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 $47.94 by ($2.07). The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $55.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares will post 200 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on FCNCA. StockNews.com downgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Raymond James upgraded 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 research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wedbush cut First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $2,450.00 to $2,150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2,012.11.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.