Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on FITB. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Argus raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.56.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

FITB traded up $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,965,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,653,382. The company has a market cap of $29.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.05. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.49 and a 1 year high of $43.37. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 17.41%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,376,880. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,376,880. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total value of $835,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 54,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,920 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 19,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $264,000. Hedge funds and other 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.