Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on FITB. Argus lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens restated an equal weight rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $41.16.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $43.24 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.17 and a 200 day moving average of $38.14. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $22.49 and a 12 month high of $43.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 15.79%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,805,724. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $494,520.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,961 shares in the company, valued at $863,802.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,724. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,920. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth $593,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $3,857,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $79,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 46.9% in the second quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 14.3% in the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 755,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,557,000 after acquiring an additional 94,369 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.