Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Now Covered by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $47.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 20.30% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $53.00 target price (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.78.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

FITB opened at $39.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $36.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.67. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $32.25 and a 1 year high of $49.07. The stock has a market cap of $26.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 14.10%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total transaction of $945,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares in the company, valued at $5,698,778.80. This trade represents a 14.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 16,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 6,760 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 18,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $780,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 100,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,251,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the period. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 42,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.