Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.56.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 1.3%

FITB opened at $50.98 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $48.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $46.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.95. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $32.79 and a one year high of $55.44.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.87. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 53.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 7.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 40.5% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 56,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,218,000 after purchasing an additional 16,323 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 45.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.0% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $968,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.