StockNews.com Lowers Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) to Sell

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Monday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, August 24th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $30.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Monday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.03.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

FITB traded up $0.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $27.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,803,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,760,172. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $25.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.02. The company has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.11 and a 52-week high of $38.06.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 21.20%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, Director C. Bryan Daniels acquired 64,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.31 per share, for a total transaction of $1,503,495.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 325,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,582,230.18. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Asset Allocation Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Allocation Strategies LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 161,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,083,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 27,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,888,000. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 464,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,756,000 after buying an additional 26,514 shares during the last quarter. 77.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp operates as a diversified financial services company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer and Small Business Banking, and Wealth and Asset Management. The company's Commercial Banking segment offers credit intermediation, cash management, and financial services; lending and depository products; and cash management, foreign exchange and international trade finance, derivatives and capital markets services, asset-based lending, real estate finance, public finance, commercial leasing, and syndicated finance for business, government, and professional customers.