Versor Investments LP Invests $506,000 in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter, purchasing 12,900 shares valued at approximately $506,000.
• Fifth Third Bancorp's Board of Directors authorized a significant stock buyback program for 100 million shares, indicating confidence in the company's stock value.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.5%.

Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $506,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,908,401 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $898,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321,554 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,736,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $695,265,000 after buying an additional 862,374 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $334,805,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $299,111,000 after buying an additional 798,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,229,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $178,806,000 after acquiring an additional 564,860 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FITB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson raised 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 report on Monday, June 9th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen assumed 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 target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 4.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded up $1.91 on Friday, hitting $44.79. The company had a trading volume of 4,092,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,516,230. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $42.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $32.25 and a 1 year high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program 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 programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.96%.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.