Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday.

FITB has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.25 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.58.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ FITB opened at $55.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.99. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $32.25 and a 12-month high of $55.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.22.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 19.50% and a return on equity of 13.53%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 45.20%.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.50, for a total transaction of $109,125.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 129,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,265,763.50. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,043.3% during the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 501.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 581.0% in the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in 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.