Short Interest in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Declines By 9.5%

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,790,000 shares, a drop of 9.5% from the September 30th total of 20,760,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,990,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,724. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% during the 3rd 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 during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter worth $34,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $53,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,787.3% in the 3rd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% during 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. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FITB shares. Argus increased 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 note on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Baird R W cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.28.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,081,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,596,011. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $24.02 and a fifty-two week high of $45.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $42.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $29.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.22.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

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.