Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Stock Rating Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $39.50 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $37.50.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on FITB. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Stephens restated an equal weight rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $39.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $36.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $37.56 on Wednesday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $22.46 and a one year high of $37.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $25.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.65.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The company 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 44.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 136,922 shares in the company, valued at $5,134,575. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total value of $93,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 136,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,134,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,857 shares of company stock worth $1,787,638 over the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Avalon Advisory Group purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $2,267,000. Csenge Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 37,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 17.9% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 424.3% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 19,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 15,662 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter worth $88,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.