Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Morgan Stanley

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating restated by research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $36.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential downside of 1.50% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on FITB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.31.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $36.55. 5,506,880 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,509,221. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $24.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.27. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $22.46 and a 52 week high of $37.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.89.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.70%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at $1,696,981.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,357 shares of company stock worth $1,693,888. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 8,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Lcnb Corp raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 19,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 41,594 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,558,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 73,905 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,750,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company's stock.

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.