Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

FITB has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Baird R W cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Argus upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.28.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $43.68 on Tuesday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $23.17 and a twelve month high of $45.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.78 and its 200 day moving average is $39.60. The stock has a market cap of $29.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.22.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given 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 of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,724. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 142,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,940 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.2% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 9,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 73,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,750,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $622,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 15,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 3,090 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.