Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

FITB has been the subject of several other reports. Argus increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $43.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $41.16.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $43.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.58 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.49 and a 52-week high of $43.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $41.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.04). Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.98%.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total transaction of $835,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,087 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,883.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,376,880. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total value of $835,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,224,883.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,500 shares of company stock worth $2,269,920 over the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 19,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $206,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $264,000. 83.79% of the stock is 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.