Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Short Interest Update

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) saw a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 20,000,000 shares, a decrease of 8.9% from the November 15th total of 21,960,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,441,720.71. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 89.5% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock traded down $0.56 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.05. 5,263,932 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,544,114. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $32.29 and a 1-year high of $49.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FITB shares. Baird R W cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.81.

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.