Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.78.

FITB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. StockNews.com cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fifth Third Bancorp 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,802.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Centerpoint Advisors LLC lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% in the 1st quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $52,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $43.84 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. The company has a market capitalization of $29.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $22.49 and a one year high of $43.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.82.

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 3.31 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 is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 47.13%.

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.