Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on FITB. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.12.

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Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $33.84. 5,836,563 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,466,293. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $32.25 and a one year high of $49.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.10 and a 200 day moving average of $42.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $22.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.99.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.37%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total transaction of $761,272.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 244,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,820,994.62. This represents a 6.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total value of $945,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,698,778.80. The trade was a 14.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FITB. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 166,588 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,530,000 after purchasing an additional 25,622 shares in the last quarter. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 148.3% in the 1st quarter. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 7.3% during the first quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 9,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.6% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 12,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,051,000. 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.