Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Baird R W downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $43.09.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.81. 1,565,614 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,591,216. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $43.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.29. The stock has a market cap of $31.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $26.89 and a 12 month high of $48.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. Fifth Third Bancorp's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,441,720.71. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,724. The trade was a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.1% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

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.