Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Short Interest Down 8.9% in November

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 20,000,000 shares, a decrease of 8.9% from the November 15th total of 21,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,160,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.05. The company had a trading volume of 5,263,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,544,114. The stock has a market cap of $30.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.77. 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 12 month low of $32.29 and a 12 month high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). The business 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 company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FITB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.81.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at $2,441,720.71. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FITB. 1ST Source Bank purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $211,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,476,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,713,000 after purchasing an additional 409,292 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $191,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $263,000. 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.