Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $56.97 and last traded at $57.0540, with a volume of 747161 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $54.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective (down from $57.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.94.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $51.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $51.42 and its 200 day moving average is $49.89. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.20. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.69%.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares in the company, valued at $3,873,700.23. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $9,556,215.72. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Center for Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. SouthState Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 74.7% during the 1st quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Solutions Ltd bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

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.