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

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $48.19.

A number of research firms recently commented on FITB. Citigroup decreased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total value of $945,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,698,778.80. This represents a 14.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total transaction of $761,272.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 244,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,820,994.62. This represents a 6.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,586,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $912,692,000 after purchasing an additional 812,385 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,959,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $715,219,000 after buying an additional 285,910 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,135,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $597,692,000 after buying an additional 823,803 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,531,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,991,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,044 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $371,836,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $33.75 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.36. The firm has a market cap of $22.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.99. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $32.75 and a 1-year high of $49.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.39%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.13%.

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.