First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Short Interest Up 13.1% in January

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 425,500 shares, an increase of 13.1% from the December 31st total of 376,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 86,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on FCNCA shares. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,700.00 price target for the company. Citigroup downgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,323.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in First Citizens BancShares by 11.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 323,532 shares of the bank’s stock worth $595,607,000 after purchasing an additional 33,713 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 288,960 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $531,961,000 after purchasing an additional 18,501 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 58,529 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,749,000 after buying an additional 7,613 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 57,981 shares of the bank’s stock worth $122,516,000 after buying an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 128.4% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 54,831 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $115,859,000 after buying an additional 30,828 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of First Citizens BancShares stock traded down $63.14 during trading on Monday, reaching $2,141.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 30,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 73,867. First Citizens BancShares has a one year low of $1,438.08 and a one year high of $2,412.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2,164.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2,052.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.85.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $45.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.32 by $5.78. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 13.22%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares will post 165.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $1.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.