Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to Overweight

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $39.50 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $37.50.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a market perform rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $36.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

FITB stock opened at $37.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.46 and a 1 year high of $37.67. The company has a market cap of $25.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 139,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 46,357 shares of company stock worth $1,693,888. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FITB. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 58.9% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,042,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,798,000 after acquiring an additional 386,539 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 59.1% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 338,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,874,000 after purchasing an additional 125,782 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 9,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 115,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,287,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 1,275 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.