Strs Ohio Acquires New Position in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp, purchasing 35,310 shares valued at approximately $1.38 million in the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have shown positive sentiment towards Fifth Third Bancorp, with ratings including two "Strong Buy," ten "Buy," and an average price target of $48.13.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.40 per share, along with a share buyback plan allowing up to 100 million shares to be repurchased.

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 35,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,384,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $334,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $113,900,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,908,401 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $898,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321,554 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4,271.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,989,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 0.4%

Fifth Third Bancorp stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,455,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,304,061. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.25 and a fifty-two week high of $49.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $30.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.19.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend yield of 3.5%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 45.96%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FITB. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.13.

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.