North Star Investment Management Corp. Boosts Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• North Star Investment Management increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 65.4% in the first quarter, ending with 189,895 shares worth about $8.8 million.
• Institutional ownership in FITB remains high, with 83.79% of shares held by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Several other firms also added to or initiated positions in the bank.
• Analysts remain generally positive on Fifth Third Bancorp, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $57.74. The company also recently beat quarterly EPS estimates and announced a $0.40 per-share quarterly dividend.

North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 65.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 189,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 75,103 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp.'s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $8,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FITB. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 501.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Solutions Ltd acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, EFG International AG acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 20th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $1,009,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares in the company, valued at $9,556,215.72. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total transaction of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $56.47 on Monday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $40.04 and a 52 week high of $56.77. The business's 50 day moving average price is $50.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $51.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.92.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.20. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.69%.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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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