Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $43.00 to $52.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp traded as high as $48.50 and last traded at $48.50, with a volume of 1770 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $47.90.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FITB. BOKF NA boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2,563.3% in the 1st quarter. BOKF NA now owns 43,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,596,000 after buying an additional 41,859 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.8% during the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 7,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $1,384,000. Interval Partners LP lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.5% during the first quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 564,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,995,000 after purchasing an additional 8,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $265,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.73. The stock has a market cap of $32.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. Research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

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.