First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 425,500 shares, an increase of 13.1% from the December 15th total of 376,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 86,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Institutional Trading of First Citizens BancShares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 3,577.5% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 35,010 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,943,000 after purchasing an additional 34,058 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in First Citizens BancShares by 11.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 323,532 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $595,607,000 after purchasing an additional 33,713 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 225.2% in the 2nd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 42,159 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,979,000 after buying an additional 29,194 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 183,992.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 23,932 shares of the bank’s stock worth $440,580,000 after buying an additional 23,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 6,773.9% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 23,921 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,274,000 after buying an additional 23,573 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of FCNCA opened at $2,188.94 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2,167.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2,020.28. First Citizens BancShares has a 52-week low of $1,371.77 and a 52-week high of $2,388.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.86.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $47.40 by ($1.53). First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 17.36% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $55.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares will post 186.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $1.95 per share. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This is a boost from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is 4.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCNCA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush cut their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group began coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,700.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $2,303.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $2,500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,290.75.

First Citizens BancShares Company Profile

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.