Citigroup Boosts Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Price Target to $52.00

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) had its target price lifted by Citigroup from $43.00 to $52.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB opened at $48.44 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $44.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.80. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $26.89 and a 52 week high of $49.07. The company has a market capitalization of $32.48 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.21. 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 posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.9% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 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.