Gabelli Funds LLC Buys Shares of 83,626 Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 83,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,885,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FITB. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter worth $25,000. SouthState Bank Corp boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 74.7% during the 1st quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Monetary Solutions Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on FITB. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Stephens began coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Argus upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.49.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 1.4%

Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $57.78 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $54.36 and its 200-day moving average is $51.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $40.04 and a 1 year high of $59.50. The company has a market cap of $52.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.90.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.01). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 45.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.61%.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.