Strs Ohio Makes New Investment in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Strs Ohio bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 35,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,384,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,908,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $898,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321,554 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.1% during the first 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 during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $334,805,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,510,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,196,000 after acquiring an additional 279,669 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,028,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $197,117,000 after acquiring an additional 542,934 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FITB shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. DA Davidson raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.13.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $45.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $43.61 and a 200 day moving average of $40.14. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $32.25 and a 1 year high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.96%.

Fifth Third Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Profile

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.