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

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 5.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,826 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,976,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,564,000. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP now owns 3,230 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,946,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Retireful LLC purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the third quarter valued at approximately $801,000. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 22.6% in the third quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,368,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FCNCA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $2,500.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,600.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,290.75.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of FCNCA stock opened at $2,188.94 on Monday. First Citizens BancShares has a twelve month low of $1,371.77 and a twelve month high of $2,388.78. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $2,167.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2,020.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.86.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 17.36%. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $55.92 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares will post 186.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.