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

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $45.57 and last traded at $45.44, with a volume of 3395103 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $44.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FITB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.78.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.08.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 17.41%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $494,520.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,802.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $494,520.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,802.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,805,724. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,000 shares of company stock worth $2,169,920 over the last ninety days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% in the 1st quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $52,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.