Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Earns “Market Perform” Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated their market perform rating on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a $40.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $39.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on FITB. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Stephens restated an equal weight rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a neutral rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $36.31.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

FITB opened at $36.82 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.13. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.46 and a 1 year high of $37.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 139,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,357 shares of company stock worth $1,693,888 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 145.5% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 322.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.