Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.1875.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FITB shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $67.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Truist Financial set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $51.80 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.45. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $37.86 and a fifty-two week high of $55.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.20. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $1,009,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,556,215.72. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total transaction of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 76,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 47.4% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 3,214 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 97,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,519,000 after purchasing an additional 13,536 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter worth $467,000. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.3% in the first quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 36.8% in the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 43,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 11,755 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.