Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $34.22, but opened at $36.42. Fifth Third Bancorp shares last traded at $35.35, with a volume of 1,705,916 shares.

The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 18.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FITB. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.63.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $29,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 145.5% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 93.4% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $35.21 and a 200 day moving average of $31.83. The company has a market capitalization of $24.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

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.