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

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on FITB. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.56.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.3 %

Fifth Third Bancorp stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.62. 3,965,720 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,653,382. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $22.49 and a 12 month high of $43.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $29.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.05.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.04). The business 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total transaction of $835,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,224,883.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were 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 owns 125,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,883.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,376,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,920 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% in the first quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $56,000. 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.