Fifth Third Bancorp Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:FITB)

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 10,026 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 294% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,544 call options.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $263,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $191,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 24,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 2,265 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 821,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,194,000 after buying an additional 14,137 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 232.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of FITB opened at $37.25 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $37.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.94. The stock has a market cap of $24.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 14.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FITB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on 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 lowered their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.24.

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.