Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Hits New 52-Week High at $39.14

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $39.14 and last traded at $39.02, with a volume of 200044 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FITB. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $26.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,072,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 139,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at $1,696,981.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,857 shares of company stock worth $1,787,638. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 61,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 3,476 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 737,397 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,551,000 after buying an additional 269,152 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 661,215 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,805,000 after buying an additional 69,273 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 350,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,102,000 after acquiring an additional 113,838 shares during the period. Finally, Outfitter Financial LLC purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $946,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.