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

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.75.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of FITB opened at $45.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $30.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.84 and a 200 day moving average of $42.40. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.25 and a fifty-two week high of $47.86.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 13.41%. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.76%.

Insider Activity

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, Director Evan Bayh bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $41.22 per share, for a total transaction of $123,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 84,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,501,309.24. This trade represents a 3.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter worth $357,440,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $334,805,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,677,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $850,473,000 after buying an additional 2,941,333 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,037,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $714,457,000 after buying an additional 2,293,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 30,830,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,373,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,803,861 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

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.