Short Interest in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Expands By 22.4%

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 323,400 shares, an increase of 22.4% from the February 13th total of 264,200 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 73,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,303.00 to $2,384.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup lowered shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,288.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Craig L. Nix purchased 17 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1,881.13 per share, with a total value of $31,979.21. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 1,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,146,369.33. The trade was a 1.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 13.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Citizens BancShares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCNCA. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 16 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 18 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of First Citizens BancShares stock opened at $1,881.93 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $2,061.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2,057.59. The company has a market cap of $25.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.81. First Citizens BancShares has a fifty-two week low of $1,518.00 and a fifty-two week high of $2,412.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $45.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.32 by $5.78. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 13.22%. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares will post 167.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.12%.

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.