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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, May 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Stephens restated 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. Bank of America increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $40.15.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Fifth Third Bancorp stock traded down $1.18 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $39.55. The stock had a trading volume of 7,435,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,052,022. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.49 and a fifty-two week high of $42.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.40. The company has a market cap of $27.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total transaction of $835,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,224,883.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were 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 directly owns 20,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,802.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,429,920 in the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

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.