Short Interest in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Expands By 12.1%

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wedbush cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $2,450.00 to $2,150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Piper Sandler increased 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2,012.11.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

FCNCA traded up $20.79 during trading on Thursday, hitting $2,064.60. The stock had a trading volume of 7,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 85,446. The firm has a market cap of $30.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,944.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,805.02. First Citizens BancShares has a 12 month low of $1,290.60 and a 12 month high of $2,174.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

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

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

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

First Citizens BancShares declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to buy up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FCNCA. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter valued at approximately $298,180,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 4.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,064,822 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,740,984,000 after acquiring an additional 47,167 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,563 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $339,933,000 after acquiring an additional 41,793 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 3,577.5% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 35,010 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,943,000 after acquiring an additional 34,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 225.2% in the 2nd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 42,159 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,979,000 after purchasing an additional 29,194 shares during the last quarter. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.