First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Short Interest Up 11.1% in November

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 419,800 shares, an increase of 11.1% from the November 15th total of 377,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 94,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FCNCA. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 3,577.5% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 35,010 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,943,000 after acquiring an additional 34,058 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 323,532 shares of the bank’s stock worth $595,607,000 after acquiring an additional 33,713 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in 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 worth $70,979,000 after purchasing an additional 29,194 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 183,992.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 23,932 shares of the bank’s stock worth $440,580,000 after acquiring an additional 23,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in First Citizens BancShares by 6,773.9% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 23,921 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,274,000 after purchasing an additional 23,573 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCNCA has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,025.00 to $2,625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $2,100.00 to $2,500.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,157.64.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of FCNCA opened at $2,086.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. First Citizens BancShares has a 12 month low of $1,363.97 and a 12 month high of $2,388.78. The stock has a market cap of $29.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $2,113.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,939.71.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.40 by ($1.53). First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 17.36% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $55.92 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares will post 187.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This is a boost from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.47%.

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.