Smead Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Smead Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,952,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $67,354,000. Fifth Third Bancorp comprises about 1.2% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Smead Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Fifth Third Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 145.5% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Clear Street Markets LLC grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 93.4% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.63.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $34.18. The company had a trading volume of 2,543,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,350,342. The stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.46 and a 52-week high of $37.41.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.22. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 18.58% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 43.34%.

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.