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

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

FITB has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.16.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $42.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.36. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.49 and a 1-year high of $43.85. The stock has a market cap of $29.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.63, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.22.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced 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 net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,376,880. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other 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 transaction of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,376,880. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total value of $835,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,883.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,920. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth $34,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% in the first quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 130.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

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.