Traders Buy High Volume of Fifth Third Bancorp Call Options (NASDAQ:FITB)

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 59,947 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,521% compared to the typical volume of 3,699 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FITB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Argus increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. DA Davidson upped 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. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,250 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.50, for a total value of $109,125.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 129,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,265,763.50. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Evan Bayh purchased 3,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $41.22 per share, with a total value of $123,660.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 84,942 shares in the company, valued at $3,501,309.24. The trade was a 3.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. United Community Bank increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 581.0% during the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,043.3% during the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.53. The company had a trading volume of 4,860,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,637,085. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.99. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $32.25 and a twelve month high of $48.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 13.41%. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.76%.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.