Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, July 31st.
According to Zacks, “Fifth Third’s shares have outperformed the industry over the past one year. The company’s second-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Higher net interest income and lower provisions were recorded. Though the company’s branch digitization initiative and legal costs continue leading to an increase in expenses, we believe the company’s ongoing strategic efforts, such as Project North Star, will likely boost its efficiency and revenue over the long run. Also, margin pressure seems to be easing gradually, given the Fed interest rate hikes and improving economic backdrop with expected lesser regulations. Moreover, Fifth Third got the Fed's nod to 2017 capital plan and growing deposits base look encouraging.”
Several other research firms also recently commented on FITB. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Friday, May 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $27.50 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 14th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 10th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Friday, May 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.54.
Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ FITB) traded down 1.84% on Monday, hitting $26.64. The company had a trading volume of 2,572,406 shares. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $28.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.20 and a 200 day moving average of $25.73. The stock has a market cap of $19.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 1.37.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post $1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Fifth Third Bancorp declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 28th that permits the company to buyback $1.16 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 67% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
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Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Fund Management S.A. boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 69.8% in the second quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 321,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,339,000 after buying an additional 132,047 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Asset Management PLC UK boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.0% in the second quarter. Aberdeen Asset Management PLC UK now owns 317,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,247,000 after buying an additional 33,960 shares during the last quarter. HPM Partners LLC boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 40.0% in the second quarter. HPM Partners LLC now owns 14,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 4,249 shares during the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,292.7% in the second quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 81,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 88,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC World Markets Inc. boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.2% in the second quarter. CIBC World Markets Inc. now owns 99,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,584,000 after buying an additional 3,127 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.50% of the company’s stock.
Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile
Fifth Third Bancorp is a bank holding company and a financial holding company. The Company conducts its principal lending, deposit gathering, transaction processing and service advisory activities through its banking and non-banking subsidiaries from banking centers located throughout the Midwestern and Southeastern regions of the United States.
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