Stock Buyback Program Approved by Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Board

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, June 16th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $38.78. The stock had a trading volume of 5,301,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,484,718. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $32.25 and a twelve month high of $49.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 17.65%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on FITB shares. DA Davidson upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.53.

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.