Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.49.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $57.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $40.04 and a fifty-two week high of $59.50. The firm has a market cap of $52.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $53.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.96.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.01). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. Fifth Third Bancorp’s revenue was up 45.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 54.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $1,009,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares in the company, valued at $9,556,215.72. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 4,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.1% in 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. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 1,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

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.