Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Upgraded to Hold by StockNews.com

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on FITB. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Argus raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.28.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ FITB traded down $1.30 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $43.37. The stock had a trading volume of 4,313,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,610,427. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.18. The firm has a market cap of $29.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.49 and a fifty-two week high of $45.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $56,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.5% in the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 135,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,048,000 after purchasing an additional 3,271 shares during the last quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $213,000. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.9% in the first quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 22,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signet Financial Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.8% in the first quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 74,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.