Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on FITB. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $54.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.19.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $48.63 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $44.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.64. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $36.64 and a 12-month high of $55.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.87. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $1,009,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 189,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,556,215.72. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FITB. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 4,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 4,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 19.2% during the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 1,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 64,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.