Jefferies Financial Group Raises Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Price Target to $43.00

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) had its target price raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $43.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on FITB. Robert W. Baird reissued a neutral rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Wolfe Research raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $43.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $38.15.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ FITB opened at $36.01 on Wednesday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.49 and a 1 year high of $39.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $36.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.70%. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total value of $93,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 136,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,134,575. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total value of $93,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 136,922 shares in the company, valued at $5,134,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $283,000. DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.8% in the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 111,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,079,000 after acquiring an additional 9,052 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.9% during the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 20,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $766,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 24,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 3,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 179.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 20,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 13,382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

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.