Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Upgraded by DA Davidson to Buy Rating

DA Davidson upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. DA Davidson currently has $47.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $42.00.

FITB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.29.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of FITB stock opened at $39.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.90. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $49.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.84.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 14.10%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FITB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,908,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $898,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321,554 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,736,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $695,265,000 after purchasing an additional 862,374 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,959,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $715,219,000 after purchasing an additional 285,910 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,135,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $597,692,000 after purchasing an additional 823,803 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,531,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,044 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.