Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp experienced a significant trading volume increase of 108% after The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded the stock's price target from $49.00 to $51.00 and maintained a buy rating.
• In addition to Goldman Sachs, several other analysts have also raised their price targets for the bank, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $49.47.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.37 to $0.40, representing an annualized dividend of $1.60 and a yield of 3.6%.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $49.00 to $51.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Approximately 10,025,613 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 108% from the previous session's volume of 4,819,821 shares.The stock last traded at $43.77 and had previously closed at $44.41.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Citigroup upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.47.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $357,440,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $334,805,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,677,686 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $850,473,000 after purchasing an additional 2,941,333 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $113,900,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,908,401 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $898,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321,554 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.9%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $44.10 and a 200 day moving average of $40.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.95.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 49.69%.

Fifth Third Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, June 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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