Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $39.50 price target on the financial services provider's stock, up from their previous price target of $37.50.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on FITB. Morgan Stanley restated an equal weight rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a market perform rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Stephens restated an equal weight rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $36.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FITB traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.10. The company had a trading volume of 4,044,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,337,054. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.50. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $22.46 and a 12-month high of $37.67. The company has a market capitalization of $25.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 145.5% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.