Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Price Target to $65.00

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) had its price target decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $70.00 to $65.00 in a report issued on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on FITB. Argus raised Fifth Third Bancorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.20.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $52.05 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $47.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.29. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $40.04 and a one year high of $59.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 45.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. Research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.34%.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 32,549,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,523,650,000 after buying an additional 1,719,361 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 23,799,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,114,046,000 after acquiring an additional 2,574,712 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 20.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,653,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,333,362,000 after acquiring an additional 3,972,795 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $1,324,903,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,197,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $848,672,000 after acquiring an additional 96,656 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its principal subsidiary, Fifth Third Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, governments and institutional clients.

Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, home equity loans, consumer lending, credit cards, commercial loans, treasury management and other business banking services. Fifth Third also provides wealth management, investment advisory, brokerage, trust and asset-management services, as well as capital markets and investment banking capabilities for corporate and institutional customers.

Fifth Third Bank operates through a branch and digital banking network primarily serving communities across the Midwest and Southeast, including markets in Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.