Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.92.

A number of research firms have issued reports on FITB. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $41.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $32.29 and a one year high of $49.07. The company has a market cap of $27.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.17 and a 200-day moving average of $42.70.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 49.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at $2,441,720.71. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $177,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 10,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 145,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,147,000 after purchasing an additional 7,501 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 11,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $509,000. Institutional investors 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.