Fifth Third Bancorp’s (FITB) “Equal Weight” Rating Reaffirmed at Morgan Stanley

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $36.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential downside of 2.86% from the stock’s previous close.

FITB has been the topic of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.31.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $37.06 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.07. The company has a market cap of $25.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $22.46 and a twelve month high of $37.41.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at $1,696,981.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,357 shares of company stock worth $1,693,888 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $29,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its position 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

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.