Fifth Third Bancorp’s (FITB) “Equal Weight” Rating Reiterated at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley restated their equal weight rating on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has a $36.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird reiterated a neutral rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group reiterated a neutral rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $36.31.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $36.82 on Monday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $22.46 and a 12-month high of $37.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,072,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,072,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,357 shares of company stock valued at $1,693,888 over the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 145.5% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

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.