/Fifth%20Third%20Bancorp%20ban%20location%20by-Joe%20Hendrickson%20via%20iStock.jpg)
Cincinnati, Ohio-based Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) operates as a bank holding company providing a wide range of financial products and services. Valued at $26.4 billion by market cap, the firm operates through Commercial Banking, Consumer and Small Business Banking, and Wealth and Asset Management segments.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap stocks,” Fifth Third Bancorp fits right into that category, with its market cap exceeding the threshold, reflecting its substantial size, dominance and influence in the regional banking industry.
Despite its strengths, FITB stock has tanked 19.6% from its three-year high of $49.07 touched on Nov. 25, 2024. Furthermore, FITB has plunged 8.2% over the past three months, underperforming the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 4.5% dip during the same time frame.
FITB has lagged behind the S&P 500 over the longer term as well. FITB stock has declined 8.8% over the past six months and gained 7.7% over the past 52 weeks, compared to the SPX’s 70 bps dip over the past six months and 8.4% returns over the past year.
To confirm the overall bullish trend and recent downturn, FITB traded consistently above its 200-day moving average over the past year until dropping below it in early March. Furthermore, the stock has also traded mostly below its 50-day moving average since mid-December last year.
Fifth Third Bancorp’s stock rose 1.2% after the release of its mixed Q4 results on Jan. 21. Although the company observed a 4.6% year-over-year decline in interest income to $2.5 billion, its net interest income (NII) inched up 1.4% to more than $1.4 billion due to improvement in NII margin. Meanwhile, its non-interest income came in at $732 million. The company also reported a notable 15.7% year-over-year decrease in non-interest expense to $1.2 billion, leading to an impressive 18.3% year-over-year growth in net income to shareholders, reaching $582 million.
However, the company experienced an 84 bps year-over-year decline in average portfolio loans and leases to approximately $117.9 billion and its NPA ratio increased to 0.71 up from 0.59 in the year-ago quarter. Following the initial surge, FITB stock dropped 2.1% in the subsequent trading session.
Furthermore, Fifth Third Bancorp has notably underperformed its peer M&T Bank Corporation’s (MTB) 1.5% dip over the past six months and 23.6% surge over the past year.
Among the 22 analysts covering the FITB stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” Its mean price target of $49.98 suggests a 26.8% premium to current price levels.
