Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Price Target Raised to $54.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) had its price objective upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Argus upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.09.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:FITB traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $46.99. The stock had a trading volume of 3,522,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,600,032. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $26.89 and a 52 week high of $48.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 49.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,724. This represents a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at $2,441,720.71. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 89.5% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $39,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

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.