Short Interest in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Grows By 5.3%

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) saw a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 247,300 shares, an increase of 5.3% from the June 30th total of 234,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 82,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FCNCA. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,650.00 price target (up from $1,600.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,920.82.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of FCNCA traded down $49.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $2,038.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 32,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 84,297. First Citizens BancShares has a one year low of $1,274.91 and a one year high of $2,174.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,756.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,642.11.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $50.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $44.91 by $5.96. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 18.19%. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $52.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares will post 195.05 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.64%.

Insider Transactions at First Citizens BancShares

In related news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 516 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,750.00, for a total value of $903,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,433,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 484 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,750.12, for a total transaction of $847,058.08. Following the sale, the director now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $586,290.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 516 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,750.00, for a total value of $903,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,433,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 20 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.