Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp hit a new 52-week high after Truist Financial raised its price target to $60 from $57 and kept a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $55.80 during the session.
• Several other analysts have also turned more bullish, with recent target hikes from Evercore, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs. Overall, the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with a $57.74 average target price.
• The bank recently reported Q1 EPS of $0.83, beating estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share. That dividend implies a 2.8% yield on an annualized basis.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $57.00 to $60.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp traded as high as $55.80 and last traded at $55.9180, with a volume of 495631 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.96.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $54.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $54.00 target price (down from $57.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 189,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,556,215.72. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total transaction of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 76,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,873,700.23. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SouthState Bank Corp lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 74.7% during the first quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 552 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 501.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Monetary Solutions Ltd acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 2.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $50.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.20. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%.The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is 53.69%.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

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.

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