StockNews.com Lowers Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a market perform rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $41.78.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 2.7 %

FITB opened at $43.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $29.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.49 and a 1 year high of $43.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.13%.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,376,880. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,376,880. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total value of $835,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,883.99. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,500 shares of company stock worth $2,269,920 in the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 236,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,124,000 after purchasing an additional 4,116 shares in the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% during the third quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 108,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,655,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $90,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 25.1% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 9,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.