Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Price Target Raised to $51.00

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a market perform rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $41.78.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $41.74 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.54. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $22.49 and a one year high of $43.85. The company has a market capitalization of $28.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.04). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.37 dividend. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 46.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $840,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,724. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $494,520.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,961 shares in the company, valued at $863,802.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,920 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,257,000. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 88,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,056,000 after buying an additional 21,251 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.0% during the second quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 41,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after buying an additional 5,411 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 291,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,043,000 after buying an additional 21,612 shares during the period. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $2,080,000. 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.