Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on FITB. Barclays boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Baird R W downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.28.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ FITB traded up $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.26. The company had a trading volume of 3,674,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,063,957. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.00. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $24.64 and a 12 month high of $46.90. The stock has a market cap of $31.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,805,724. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FITB. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $622,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $88,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 424.3% during the 1st 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. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $318,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 24,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

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.