StockNews.com Lowers Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) to Sell

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

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a market perform rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $41.41.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $42.84 on Friday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $22.49 and a fifty-two week high of $43.85. The firm has a market cap of $29.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.44.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is 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 currently 46.98%.

Insider Activity

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,802.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total transaction of $494,520.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,802.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,805,724. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,500 shares of company stock worth $2,269,920 over the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bailard Inc. increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 51,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.8% in the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 7,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.6% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 53,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,962,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by 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.