Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $770,000 Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 37.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,619 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 161.8% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 788 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 60.7% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 887 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on FITB shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

FITB stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.51. 10,833,865 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,563,186. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.12. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $32.25 and a 1-year high of $49.07. The company has a market cap of $27.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 17.65%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.98%.

Fifth Third Bancorp announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.