Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

FITB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Argus increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.16.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $43.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.49 and a 52-week high of $43.85. 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’s 50 day moving average is $41.08 and its 200 day moving average is $38.09.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,376,880. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,376,880. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 20,961 shares in the company, valued at $863,802.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,920 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% during the first 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 during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.