Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $47.78 and last traded at $47.69, with a volume of 44199 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Argus lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.28.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.24.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. Fifth Third Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase 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 3.13%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,724. This trade represents a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park National Corp OH boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 41,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 5,411 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.1% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,078,000 after acquiring an additional 9,444 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,254,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $639,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 313,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,657,000 after buying an additional 26,194 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is 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.