Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong sell” to a “sell,” though the stock still carries a broader analyst view of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $57.19.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings, with EPS of $0.83 beating expectations, even as revenue of $2.83 billion came in slightly below estimates.
• Shares were trading around $49.33, and recent insider activity included stock sales by two executives, while institutional ownership remains high at 83.79%.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

FITB has been the topic of a number of other reports. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.19.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

FITB stock opened at $49.33 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $48.03 and its 200-day moving average is $47.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $44.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.94. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $36.64 and a twelve month high of $55.44.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.87. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total transaction of $304,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 76,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FITB. Center for Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Bank Corp boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 74.7% during the 1st quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 552 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 501.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Monetary Solutions Ltd bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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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