North Dakota State Investment Board Makes New $1.07 Million Investment in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board opened a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp, buying 22,841 shares worth about $1.07 million in the fourth quarter.
• Fifth Third Bancorp reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.83 per share, easily topping analyst estimates, even though revenue came in slightly below forecasts.
• The stock is getting a generally positive Wall Street outlook, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $57.19; meanwhile, the company also pays a quarterly dividend yielding about 3.3%.

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 22,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,069,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 501.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. United Community Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 581.0% during the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 619.6% during the fourth quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 734 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 77.6% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $48.86 on Thursday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $36.64 and a 12-month high of $55.44. The company has a market capitalization of $44.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $47.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 76,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was 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 directly owned 189,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,556,215.72. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on FITB. Janney Montgomery Scott lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.25 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Evercore lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $54.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.19.

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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