Fifth Third Bancorp Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:FITB)

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 14,337 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 417% compared to the average volume of 2,773 put options.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.09 during trading on Monday, hitting $45.51. 2,112,688 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,522,393. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.50. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $32.25 and a 52 week high of $47.28. The company has a market cap of $30.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.99.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 13.41%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.76%.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $41.22 per share, for a total transaction of $123,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 84,942 shares in the company, valued at $3,501,309.24. This trade represents a 3.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,849,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,448,743,000 after buying an additional 1,301,624 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 30,830,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,373,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,803,861 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,306,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $958,614,000 after acquiring an additional 398,517 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 21,224,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $945,556,000 after purchasing an additional 546,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,008,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $737,728,000 after purchasing an additional 619,956 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $60.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.75.

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.