Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $46.19 and last traded at $46.03, with a volume of 122723 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FITB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped 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. Finally, Baird R W cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.28.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 2.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $31.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.95 and a 200-day moving average of $39.89.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 49.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $52,000. 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.