Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 5.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 69,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,331 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $371,836,000. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4,128.0% during the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,860,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,654,000 after buying an additional 1,816,320 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $53,508,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4,271.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,172,000 after buying an additional 1,175,834 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,531,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $402,991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,044 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FITB shares. Jefferies Financial Group began 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. Truist Financial decreased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.29.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $39.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.65 and a 200 day moving average of $40.84. The firm has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.90. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $32.25 and a one year high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 14.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.