Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Price Target Raised to $45.00 at UBS Group

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) had its target price increased by UBS Group from $43.00 to $45.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.06.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $43.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $32.25 and a 52 week high of $49.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.95.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 49.69%.

Fifth Third Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.8% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 292,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,450,000 after buying an additional 16,000 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 818,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,088,000 after buying an additional 12,905 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $1,011,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 49.5% in the first quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 47,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after buying an additional 15,692 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,448.6% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 98,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,845,000 after buying an additional 91,754 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.