Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Short Interest Update

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,170,000 shares, a growth of 7.2% from the December 31st total of 18,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,774,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $889,978,000 after buying an additional 732,651 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,679,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,837,000 after purchasing an additional 399,827 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,476,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,713,000 after purchasing an additional 409,292 shares in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,224,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,278,000 after purchasing an additional 75,024 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 1,737,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,450,000 after buying an additional 158,067 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

FITB opened at $43.57 on Tuesday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $32.29 and a 12-month high of $49.07. The company has a market cap of $29.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $44.48 and its 200 day moving average is $43.36.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective (down from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.75.

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.