Short Interest in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Rises By 7.2%

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) saw a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,170,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the December 31st total of 18,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,774,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $889,978,000 after buying an additional 732,651 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,490,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 76.2% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 1,330,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,005,000 after acquiring an additional 575,449 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,476,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,713,000 after acquiring an additional 409,292 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,679,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $371,837,000 after acquiring an additional 399,827 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $43.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $29.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.23. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $32.29 and a twelve month high of $49.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.36.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Baird R W cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.75.

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.