Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $43.94 and last traded at $43.81, with a volume of 579182 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on FITB shares. Argus raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.78.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $29.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.82.

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 business had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 15.79%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 47.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Fifth Third Bancorp 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 transaction of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,376,880. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Fifth Third Bancorp 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 transaction of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,376,880. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,224,883.99. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,920 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.9% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 51,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,885,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.0% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.8% during the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 7,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. 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.