Short Interest in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Grows By 9.7%

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 285,000 shares, a growth of 9.7% from the March 15th total of 259,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 83,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FCNCA shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $1,644.00 to $1,754.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,950.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,800.00 price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, January 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,785.57.

Insider Activity

In other First Citizens BancShares news, major shareholder Olivia Britton Holding acquired 466 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1,315.00 per share, for a total transaction of $612,790.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 121,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $160,027,610. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other First Citizens BancShares news, insider Hope Holding Bryant acquired 300 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1,315.00 per share, for a total transaction of $394,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 1,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,601,070. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Olivia Britton Holding bought 466 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1,315.00 per share, for a total transaction of $612,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $160,027,610. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 1,388 shares of company stock worth $1,825,220 over the last three months. 12.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 106.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,105,554 shares of the bank’s stock worth $735,855,000 after purchasing an additional 568,929 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 113.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 371,016 shares of the bank’s stock worth $246,949,000 after purchasing an additional 196,851 shares during the last quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter worth about $158,509,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the second quarter worth about $15,016,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 53.7% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 402,593 shares of the bank’s stock worth $267,966,000 after purchasing an additional 140,626 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Down 0.2 %

FCNCA stock traded down $3.48 during trading on Monday, reaching $1,565.69. 17,890 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 81,209. First Citizens BancShares has a 12 month low of $945.32 and a 12 month high of $1,651.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,559.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,463.00. The company has a market capitalization of $22.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The bank reported $46.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $48.49 by ($1.91). First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 51.04% and a return on equity of 13.52%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares will post 178.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 0.84%.

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.