Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Short Interest Down 20.6% in March

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,390,000 shares, a decline of 20.6% from the March 15th total of 24,430,000 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 5,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded down $0.39 on Friday, reaching $35.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,634,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,470,444. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $23.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.99. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $49.07. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $38.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.45.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 14.10%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total value of $761,272.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 244,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,820,994.62. The trade was a 6.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total value of $945,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,698,778.80. This represents a 14.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $371,836,000. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4,128.0% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,860,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816,320 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,508,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4,271.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,531,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $402,991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,044 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

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.