Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Has $416,000 Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 12,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 1,881 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 78,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,076,000 after buying an additional 2,015 shares during the period. LifeWealth Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 45.4% during the 1st quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 10,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 3,189 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 60.7% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 during the period. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 1.8%

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

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

Fifth Third Bancorp declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FITB shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen began coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup cut their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.