Interval Partners LP Increases Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Interval Partners LP lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 1.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 564,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,109 shares during the quarter. Interval Partners LP’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $20,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% in the 1st quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $37.50 to $39.50 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.15.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.26. The company had a trading volume of 4,586,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,868,636. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.49 and a 52-week high of $42.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $37.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.22. The company has a market capitalization of $28.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.04). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total transaction of $494,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,961 shares in the company, valued at $863,802.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 136,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,134,575. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total transaction of $494,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $863,802.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,000 shares of company stock worth $1,523,670 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.