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

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

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Bank of America raised their price target on 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 raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.78.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $41.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 2.03 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 $43.85.

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). The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,087 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,883.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related 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 transaction of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,224,883.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,920 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,343,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,012,472,000 after acquiring an additional 734,403 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 13.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 46,596,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,733,847,000 after buying an additional 5,512,333 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,757,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $356,031,000 after buying an additional 281,494 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.3% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,434,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,015,000 after purchasing an additional 99,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,701,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,096,000 after purchasing an additional 56,298 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.