First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Short Interest Update

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FCNCA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,456.00 to $2,568.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group started coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,700.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,323.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 323,532 shares of the bank’s stock worth $595,607,000 after purchasing an additional 33,713 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 6.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 288,960 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $531,961,000 after acquiring an additional 18,501 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 58,529 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,749,000 after purchasing an additional 7,613 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 57,981 shares of the bank’s stock worth $122,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 128.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 54,831 shares of the bank’s stock worth $115,859,000 after purchasing an additional 30,828 shares in the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

NASDAQ FCNCA traded down $62.68 on Monday, hitting $2,142.01. 64,536 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 75,540. First Citizens BancShares has a 1-year low of $1,438.08 and a 1-year high of $2,412.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $2,160.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2,054.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $29.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.85.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $45.10 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares will post 165.15 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is presently 4.12%.

About First Citizens BancShares

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.