Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $43.00 to $52.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp traded as high as $48.50 and last traded at $48.50, with a volume of 1770 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.90.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Baird R W lowered Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI increased 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 research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.62.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Park National Corp OH increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.0% during the second quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 41,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 5,411 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.1% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,078,000 after buying an additional 9,444 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,254,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $639,000. Finally, BDF Gestion acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,837,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $32.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $44.41 and its 200 day moving average is $40.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

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.