Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. Purchases Shares of 11,075 Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. has acquired a stake of 11,075 shares in Fifth Third Bancorp, valued at approximately $456,000, as per their recent SEC filing.
• Fifth Third Bancorp has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.40 per share, which will be distributed on October 15th, up from the previous $0.37.
• The company also has a stock buyback plan authorized for the repurchase of 100 million shares, indicating management believes the stock is currently undervalued.

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 11,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter worth $27,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 91.3% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 748 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 60.7% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 887 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $43.79 on Tuesday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $32.25 and a 12 month high of $49.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.95. The business's fifty day moving average price is $44.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.64.

Fifth Third Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, June 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FITB has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.47.

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.

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