Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Cut to Hold at Baird R W

Baird R W downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Argus raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.28.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

FITB opened at $43.87 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $30.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $22.49 and a twelve month high of $45.71.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 17.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.98%.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,724. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FITB. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% during the first quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 130.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

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.