Fifth Third Bancorp Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:FITB)

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 5,622 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 22% compared to the typical volume of 4,622 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FITB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.63.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 3,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 8,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Lcnb Corp grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 19,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 18,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 41,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $36.25 on Friday. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.78.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. 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 earned $0.78 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.