MQS Management LLC Takes Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 407,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,981,000 after acquiring an additional 11,800 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.4% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.3% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 103,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,040,000 after buying an additional 1,352 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 13.6% during the first quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 74,091 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,904,000 after buying an additional 8,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 2,166 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FITB traded down $0.01 during trading on Monday, hitting $43.75. 5,134,884 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,918,655. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.61 and a 200-day moving average of $40.05. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $32.25 and a 12-month high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FITB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Cowen started coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.53.

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.