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

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 249,100 shares, an increase of 12.1% from the September 15th total of 222,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 94,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FCNCA shares. Raymond James upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,900.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Wedbush downgraded First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $2,450.00 to $2,150.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2,012.11.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCNCA. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of FCNCA traded down $8.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $2,026.58. The stock had a trading volume of 57,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 85,960. The company has a market cap of $29.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,939.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,800.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. First Citizens BancShares has a fifty-two week low of $1,290.60 and a fifty-two week high of $2,174.80.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $50.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $44.91 by $5.96. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 14.84% and a net margin of 18.19%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $52.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares will post 200 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is 3.64%.

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.