BUZZ-Street View: First Citizens' interest income to get a lift from higher rates

First Citizens Bancshares FCNCA.O forecast 2025 interest income above Wall Street expectations on Friday, as the lender bets on delayed rate cuts by the Federal Reserve

FCNCA, which had rescued Silicon Valley Bank, forecast 2025 interest income to be between $6.6 bln and $7 bln versus estimates of $6.64 bln, according to data compiled by LSEG

At least five brokerages raise PTs on the stock

INTEREST INCOME OUTLOOK SHINES

J.P. Morgan ("overweight", PT: $2,650) says FCNCA's net interest income and net interest margin will benefit from a higher-for-longer rate outlook

"First Citizens has levers to grow its NII in 2025 even without a material uptick in SVB activity" - J.P. Morgan

FCNCA acquired Silicon Valley Bank in March 2023, after the California bank failed and entered FDIC receivership

Piper Sandler ("neutral", PT: $2,250) expects NII to remain stable or decline slightly in Q1 before improving later in the year

Raymond James ("outperform", PT: $2,500) says SVB-related loan growth should accelerate throughout the year

KBW ("outperform", PT: $2,600) says an acceleration in growth from SVB will help the stock in the medium term