UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS Group raised its price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $60 to $65 while keeping a buy rating, implying about 11.7% upside from the previous close.
• Other analysts were also mostly positive: JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and DA Davidson all maintained bullish stances or raised targets, and the stock now carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a $59.11 average price target.
• Fifth Third Bancorp recently beat earnings expectations, posting $0.83 EPS versus the $0.63 estimate, though revenue came in slightly below forecasts at $2.83 billion.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at UBS Group from $60.00 to $65.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the financial services provider's stock. UBS Group's price target suggests a potential upside of 11.70% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on FITB. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $54.50 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, June 15th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.11.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $58.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $52.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $51.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.96. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $40.04 and a one year high of $58.44.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $1,009,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,556,215.72. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 76,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 303.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,079,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $932,904,000 after purchasing an additional 15,101,629 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $649,264,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 35,548,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,664,013,000 after acquiring an additional 10,444,799 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 719.2% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,012,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $140,993,000 after acquiring an additional 2,644,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 23,799,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,114,046,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574,712 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.

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