A strong stock as of late has been Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB). Shares have been marching higher, with the stock up 10% over the past month. The stock hit a new 52-week high of $55.36 in the previous session. Fifth Third Bancorp has gained 15.6% since the start of the year compared to the 1.8% gain for the Zacks Finance sector and the 8.8% return for the Zacks Banks - Major Regional industry.
What's Driving the Outperformance?
The stock has a great record of positive earnings surprises, as it hasn't missed our earnings consensus estimate in any of the last four quarters. In its last earnings report on January 20, 2026, Fifth Third Bancorp reported EPS of $1.08 versus consensus estimate of $1.01 while it beat the consensus revenue estimate by 0.8%.
For the current fiscal year, Fifth Third Bancorp is expected to post earnings of $4.04 per share on $9.43 in revenues. This represents a 11.29% change in EPS on a 4.53% change in revenues. For the next fiscal year, the company is expected to earn $4.87 per share on $10.02 in revenues. This represents a year-over-year change of 20.54% and 6.26%, respectively.
Valuation Metrics
While Fifth Third Bancorp has moved to its 52-week high in the recent past, investors need to be asking, what is next for the company? A key aspect of this question is taking a look at valuation metrics in order to determine if the company is due for a pullback from this level.
On this front, we can look at the Zacks Style Scores, as these give investors a variety of ways to comb through stocks (beyond looking at the Zacks Rank of a security). The individual style scores for Value, Growth, Momentum and the combined VGM Score run from A through F. The idea behind the style scores is to help investors pick the most appropriate Zacks Rank stocks based on their individual investment style.
Fifth Third Bancorp has a Value Score of B. The stock's Growth and Momentum Scores are C and C, respectively, giving the company a VGM Score of B.
In terms of its value breakdown, the stock currently trades at 13.4X current fiscal year EPS estimates, which is a premium to the peer industry average of 12.7X. On a trailing cash flow basis, the stock currently trades at 12.2X versus its peer group's average of 12.2X. Additionally, the stock has a PEG ratio of 1.09. This isn't enough to put the company in the top echelon of all stocks we cover from a value perspective.
Zacks Rank
We also need to look at the Zacks Rank for the stock, as this is even more important than the company's VGM Score. Fortunately, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) thanks to favorable earnings estimate revisions from covering analysts.
Since we recommend that investors select stocks carrying Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and Style Scores of A or B, it looks as if Fifth Third Bancorp fits the bill. Thus, it seems as though Fifth Third Bancorp shares could still be poised for more gains ahead.
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Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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