Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.15.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $37.50 to $39.50 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 136,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,134,575. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at $1,696,981.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 136,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,134,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FITB. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $247,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.1% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 415,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,515,000 after buying an additional 38,118 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 119.7% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 2,384 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 13.4% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 39,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,005,000 after buying an additional 4,688 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $755,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $36.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $36.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.62. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.49 and a 1 year high of $39.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.70%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

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.