Pzena Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Pzena Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 950,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,259 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned 0.14% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $37,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position 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 in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC raised 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FITB. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ FITB traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $43.03. The stock had a trading volume of 7,556,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,642,743. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $32.25 and a 1 year high of $49.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.08. The firm has a market cap of $28.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.91.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.97% and a return on equity of 13.31%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.96%.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.