Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.75.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FITB shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price target (down from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total value of $945,035.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares in the company, valued at $5,698,778.80. This represents a 14.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total value of $761,272.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 244,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,820,994.62. This represents a 6.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Common Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 309,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,079,000 after buying an additional 34,203 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,078,000 after buying an additional 9,444 shares in the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,878,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $423,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $541,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 3.3 %

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $41.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $27.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.82. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $33.82 and a 12-month high of $49.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.13%.

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.