Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.63.

Several research analysts have weighed in on FITB shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.5% in the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 135,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,048,000 after purchasing an additional 3,271 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.5% in the first quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 99,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,428 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $1,040,000. Finally, Steph & Co. grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 22.4% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 3,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $34.53 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.52 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.46 and a fifty-two week high of $37.41.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 18.58%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.34%.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Fifth Third Bank, National Association that engages in the provision of a range of financial products and services in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer and Small Business Banking, and Wealth and Asset Management.