Short Interest in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Increases By 7.2%

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,170,000 shares, a growth of 7.2% from the December 31st total of 18,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 89.5% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FITB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.75.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ FITB traded up $0.49 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.06. 639,508 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,879,995. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.29 and a fifty-two week high of $49.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $44.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.36. The firm has a market cap of $29.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.13%.

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.