Strength Seen in First Citizens (FCNCA): Can Its 3.6% Jump Turn into More Strength?

First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA – Free Report) shares rallied 3.6% in the last trading session to close at $859.76. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock’s 5.2% gain over the past four weeks.

First Citizens BancShares stock witnessed a rise in share price for the third consecutive day. The company’s pending merger deal with CIT Group Inc. (CIT – Free Report) , which is expected to conclude in the next few days, seems to be one of the reasons for rising stock price.

Also, investors are optimistic on the robust performance of banks this year. The prospects of a tighter monetary policy – faster pace of bond-purchase tapering that will position the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates (probably thrice) in 2022 – possibly led to the bullish investor sentiments, which propel First Citizens BancShares higher.

This bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $11.73 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -13.7%. Revenues are expected to be $454.6 million, down 6.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For First Citizens, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 82.1% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on FCNCA going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>