Smead Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Shares in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Smead Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,952,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $67,354,000. Fifth Third Bancorp makes up approximately 1.2% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FITB. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 3,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 18,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 25,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, Toroso Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 7,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FITB. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.63.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.2 %

FITB traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $34.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,543,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,350,342. The stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.27. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.46 and a fifty-two week high of $37.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average is $35.14 and its 200-day moving average is $31.68.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 18.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.34%.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.