Short Interest in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Expands By 7.2%

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 20,170,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the December 15th total of 18,810,000 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ:FITB traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $44.34. The company had a trading volume of 9,304,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,879,152. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $32.29 and a 12-month high of $49.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.86.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced 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). 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Baird R W lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.92.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,451,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 224,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,477,000 after acquiring an additional 19,072 shares in the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 8,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 373,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 42,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is 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.