Fifth Third Bancorp’s (FITB) Equal Weight Rating Reaffirmed at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reaffirmed their equal weight rating on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has a $36.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $36.31.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $36.55 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $24.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.27. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $22.46 and a 12-month high of $37.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.97.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.19 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,696,981.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,357 shares of company stock worth $1,693,888. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 737,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,551,000 after purchasing an additional 269,152 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 661,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,805,000 after purchasing an additional 69,273 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 350,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,102,000 after purchasing an additional 113,838 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,860,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $376,413,000 after purchasing an additional 393,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vicus Capital raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 9,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

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.