Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on FITB. Argus boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine 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 $42.28.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ FITB opened at $43.14 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.66. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $24.02 and a 52 week high of $45.71. The stock has a market cap of $29.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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. Analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,787.3% during the third quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% in the first quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

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.