Brokerages Set Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) PT at $45.32

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.32.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $42.93 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.91. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $32.29 and a one year high of $49.07. The firm has a market cap of $28.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued 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). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 49.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at $2,441,720.71. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,337,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,774,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $889,978,000 after purchasing an additional 732,651 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,490,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 896.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 648,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,678,000 after purchasing an additional 583,781 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 76.2% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 1,330,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,005,000 after purchasing an additional 575,449 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.