First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Short Interest Up 14.8% in June

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was the target of a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 266,400 shares, a growth of 14.8% from the May 31st total of 232,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 80,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FCNCA. StockNews.com raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Raymond James raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,900.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $2,100.00 price objective (up from $1,900.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Piper Sandler cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $1,850.00 to $1,950.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,950.00 price objective on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,842.40.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:FCNCA traded up $20.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $1,748.69. The company had a trading volume of 5,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 82,674. The company has a market capitalization of $25.41 billion, a PE ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,705.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,579.03. First Citizens BancShares has a 52 week low of $1,241.05 and a 52 week high of $1,810.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $52.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.27 by $8.65. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.22% and a return on equity of 15.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares will post 190.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is 3.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Citizens BancShares

In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,757.27, for a total transaction of $1,757,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,345,955.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,750.12, for a total transaction of $847,058.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $586,290.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,757.27, for a total transaction of $1,757,270.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,345,955.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,000 shares of company stock worth $5,273,568. 12.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FCNCA. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the 3rd quarter worth about $213,000. Mariner LLC raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $985,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,622 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,619,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 56 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 245 shares of the bank’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

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.