Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Sets New 52-Week High at $42.52

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $42.52 and last traded at $42.25, with a volume of 116054 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.15.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.17. The stock has a market cap of $28.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,376,880. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,376,880. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total transaction of $835,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,883.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,523,670 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 661,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,805,000 after buying an additional 69,273 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $466,000. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $260,000. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $207,000. 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.