Fifth Third Bancorp

FITB-Q

A regional US bank. The regionals trade at a much higher multiple compared to the big banks, because there's consolidation activity. The last 6 months there has been M&A in regional banks, which was surprising given the regulatory environment. Unfortunately, you won't see the multiple that you saw years ago when the regionals merged; people won't pay that anymore. Regionals are into commercial and retail, not investment banking, but if done well, the ROE is great.

Possible that this could become attractive to an acquirer. Would be more comfortable buying this after it had moved up 10%, which would indicate they were off their lows. Dividends are very much at risk in many of the names in this sector.

Good solid management. Stock is cheap at these levels. Has had slower growth which has affected the stock price, but will grow over the long term. Could be acquired at some point.