Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Receives $43.62 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.62.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,441,720.71. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,476,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,713,000 after purchasing an additional 409,292 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 24,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,069,000 after buying an additional 2,265 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter worth $191,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $263,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 76.2% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 1,330,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,005,000 after acquiring an additional 575,449 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $48.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $44.70 and its 200 day moving average is $41.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.21. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $28.29 and a fifty-two week high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

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.