First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) investors should be aware of an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are a multitude of methods market participants can use to watch stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can beat their index-focused peers by a solid amount (see just how much).
Equally as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. There are a variety of reasons for an upper level exec to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if investors know what to do (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the recent action surrounding First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA).
How are hedge funds trading First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 29% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the biggest position in First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA). Royce & Associates has a $17.5 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Bryn Mawr Capital, managed by Ken Gray and Steve Walsh, which held a $11.5 million position; the fund has 1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that are bullish include Howard Marks’s Oaktree Capital Management, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Thomas E. Claugus’s GMT Capital.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers have jumped into First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) headfirst. Oaktree Capital Management, managed by Howard Marks, created the biggest position in First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA). Oaktree Capital Management had 9.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Thomas E. Claugus’s GMT Capital also initiated a $5.2 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Matthew Lindenbaum’s Basswood Capital.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)?
Insider buying is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time frame, First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA). These stocks are WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC), SCBT Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:SCBT), BankUnited (NYSE:BKU), United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI), and Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV). This group of stocks belong to the regional – mid-atlantic banks industry and their market caps resemble FCNCA’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| SCBT Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:SCBT) | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) | 8 | 0 | 11 |
| United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) | 19 | 0 | 1 |
With the returns demonstrated by the aforementioned tactics, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) applies perfectly to this mantra.
