Grove Bank & Trust Raises Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 60.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $35,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 81,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,192,000 after buying an additional 2,050 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $366,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.1% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 249,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,765,000 after purchasing an additional 24,979 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 271.9% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FITB has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $38.78 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.90. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $49.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

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.