FITB Stock Forecast & Price Target

Fifth Third Bancorp is projecting a robust net interest income growth of approximately 5-6% for 2025, with assumptions of a stable Fed Funds rate at 3.75% by year-end. The company's net interest margin has shown a positive trend, increasing by 6 basis points to 3.03%, surpassing forecasts and building on improvements from 4Q24. Additionally, a broad-based loan growth in the first quarter, coupled with an increase in line utilization to 37.0%, underscores strong demand and operational efficiency within the financial institution.

Fifth Third Bancorp experienced a significant 9.1% decrease in core fee income, resulting in a total of $712 million, which was below expectations and primarily driven by reduced revenues in capital markets and commercial banking fees. Additionally, the company's average deposits declined by 1.8%, or $3.1 billion, to $164.51 billion, marking a seasonal drop after a period of stability. Furthermore, the Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio fell by 12 basis points to 10.45%, slightly under its target of approximately 10.5%, indicating potential capital management concerns.