Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Stock Has Average Price Target of $60.77

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.77.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FITB shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.14, for a total transaction of $1,062,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 121,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,454,384.40. The trade was a 14.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 20.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,653,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,333,362,000 after purchasing an additional 3,972,795 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth $1,324,903,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth $995,717,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 30.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,918,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $507,151,000 after buying an additional 2,569,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,384,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $416,241,000 after buying an additional 1,049,520 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB opened at $53.54 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.97. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $40.68 and a 12 month high of $59.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.27. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.10 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 57.53%.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its principal subsidiary, Fifth Third Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, government entities and institutional clients.

The company’s offerings include checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgages, credit and debit cards, treasury management, cash management and payment-processing services. Through its wealth and asset management businesses, Fifth Third also provides investment management, brokerage, trust, private banking and financial planning services.

Fifth Third primarily serves customers across the Midwest and Southeast, with a branch and banking-center network spanning states including Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.