Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Downgraded to “Strong Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on FITB. Janney Montgomery Scott lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.25 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial set a $57.00 price target on Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $67.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.19.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $50.46 on Friday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $36.48 and a 52 week high of $55.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average is $48.11 and its 200-day moving average is $47.28. The company has a market capitalization of $45.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.94.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.87. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%.The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,556,215.72. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 76,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,873,700.23. The trade was 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 insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 501.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. Monetary Solutions Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

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.