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

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.78.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $42.67 on Wednesday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $22.49 and a 52 week high of $43.85. The company has a market capitalization of $29.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 15.79%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,376,880. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total transaction of $835,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,883.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,376,880. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,500 shares of company stock worth $2,269,920 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Park National Corp OH grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.0% in the 2nd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 41,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after buying an additional 5,411 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 291,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,043,000 after purchasing an additional 21,612 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,254,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $639,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 313,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,657,000 after buying an additional 26,194 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

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.