Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Price Target Raised to $54.50

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) had its target price lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $53.00 to $54.50 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Janney Montgomery Scott increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.25 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.19.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $50.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.28. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $36.48 and a 52 week high of $55.44.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.87. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,556,215.72. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,873,700.23. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 348,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,503,000 after purchasing an additional 15,627 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 161,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,189,000 after purchasing an additional 24,566 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,023,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,131,000 after purchasing an additional 48,080 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,314,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 26.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,619,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,169,000 after purchasing an additional 340,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.