First Citizens BancShares Is Ready To Beat Current Street Expectations, Says Bullish Analyst

Benzinga - by Priya Nigam, Benzinga Staff Writer.

First Citizens BancShares Inc’s (NASDAQ: FCNCA) stock has a history of outperforming the market.

The bank appears well positioned to generate low-to-mid teens returns, driven by above-peer loan growth and cost controls, according to Goldman Sachs.

The First Citizens BancShares Analyst: Ryan Nash initiated coverage of First Citizens BancShares with a Buy and a price target of $1,950.

The First Citizens BancShares Thesis: The bank’s peer-leading loan growth will help drive better net interest income growth, especially in the higher-for-longer rate scenario, Nash said in the initiation note.

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“Additionally, given its peer leading capital levels, it should be well positioned to return >20% of its market cap to shareholders (via a buyback) in the coming quarters,” the analyst wrote.

First Citizens BancShares has the capacity to return between $4.2 billion and $6.5 billion in share buybacks by yearend 2025, higher than the current consensus expectations of $4.1 billion, provided “it holds Tier 1 leverage of at least 8-9%,” Nash added.

The bank is poised for loan growth in mid-single digits and there is some upside to net interest income expectations, Nash stated. “While credit losses are elevated today given several high-risk portfolios, reserves appear adequate and we see the potential for losses to improve over time,” he wrote.

FCNCA Price Action: Shares of First Citizens BancShares had risen by 1.02% to $1,597 at the time of publication on Thursday.

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