Smead Capital Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Smead Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 99.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,250,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,624,138 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp makes up approximately 3.2% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $152,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.7% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 348,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,503,000 after acquiring an additional 15,627 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 18.0% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 161,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,189,000 after acquiring an additional 24,566 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,023,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,131,000 after acquiring an additional 48,080 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,276,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,788,000 after acquiring an additional 39,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 26.6% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,619,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,169,000 after acquiring an additional 340,030 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $49.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.60, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $47.94 and its 200 day moving average is $47.94. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $36.64 and a 12 month 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.87. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 53.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on FITB. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $67.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $57.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $1,009,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 189,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,556,215.72. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total transaction of $304,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares in the company, valued at $3,873,700.23. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.