Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 19,553 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors increased its Fifth Third Bancorp position by 164.6% in the first quarter, purchasing 19,553 additional shares for a total holding worth approximately $1.46 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.79% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Fifth Third has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from 23 analysts, with an average price target of $60.54.
• Fifth Third reported quarterly revenue of $3.26 billion, up 45.8% year over year, though earnings of $0.83 per share narrowly missed estimates. The bank also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a 2.8% yield.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 164.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,435 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,553 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,909,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $785,608,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,846 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 74.3% in the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 72,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,386,000 after acquiring an additional 31,081 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 35.9% during the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 23,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 6,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 21.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 97,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,515,000 after acquiring an additional 16,925 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus raised Fifth Third Bancorp to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.54.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $56.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.23. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $40.04 and a 1-year high of $59.50. The firm has a market cap of $51.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.90.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.01). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 45.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 54.61%.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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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