Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $55.44 and last traded at $54.8490, with a volume of 1010693 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $54.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Evercore raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.58.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.2%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.16 and a 200 day moving average of $45.40. The company has a market capitalization of $36.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 19.50%. Equities research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.50, for a total transaction of $109,125.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 129,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,265,763.50. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.7% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 348,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,503,000 after acquiring an additional 15,627 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,023,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,131,000 after purchasing an additional 48,080 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $1,314,000. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.9% during the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 121,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,986,000 after buying an additional 11,935 shares during the period. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 24.5% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 119,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,319,000 after acquiring an additional 23,500 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.