Short Interest in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Decreases By 19.0%

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 264,200 shares, a decrease of 19.0% from the January 31st total of 326,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 74,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on FCNCA. Citigroup lowered shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,456.00 to $2,568.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,303.00 to $2,384.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,700.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,323.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 60.0% in 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 during the period. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 38.5% in 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 during the period. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Down 3.8 %

First Citizens BancShares stock traded down $76.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,913.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 67,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 66,164. First Citizens BancShares has a fifty-two week low of $1,505.73 and a fifty-two week high of $2,412.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $25.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $2,136.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2,073.03.

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

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a 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.