Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Baird R W lowered Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.28.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 8.6 %

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $46.87 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $24.64 and a 12-month high of $46.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.21.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,724. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,724. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Park National Corp OH boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.0% during the second quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 41,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 5,411 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,254,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $639,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 26,194 shares during the period. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.2% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 827,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,796,000 after acquiring an additional 18,208 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by 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.