Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Short Interest Update

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 37,880,000 shares, an increase of 41.6% from the September 30th total of 26,750,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,970,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.3 days. Approximately 5.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Approximately 5.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 5,970,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.3 days.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, Director Evan Bayh purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $41.22 per share, for a total transaction of $123,660.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 84,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,501,309.24. This represents a 3.66% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FITB. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,448.6% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 98,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,845,000 after purchasing an additional 91,754 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 818,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,088,000 after purchasing an additional 12,905 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.2% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 40,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 3,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.6% during the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Stephens set a $52.00 price target on Fifth Third Bancorp and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $60.00 price target on Fifth Third Bancorp and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.35.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $41.53. The company had a trading volume of 7,096,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,418,269. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.44. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $49.07. The stock has a market cap of $27.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 18.67%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.76%.

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.