Fifth Third Bancorp Earnings Preview: Analysts Expect Falling Revenue, Rising EPS

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) unveils its next round of earnings this Thursday, October 20, 2011. Here's Benzinga's essential guide to Fifth Third Bancorp's third quarter earnings report.

Earnings and Revenue:

Analysts are predicting an EPS reading of 33 cents/share and revenues of $1.49 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp's latest numbers will no doubt be compared with the company's year-ago quarter, when it reported a profit of 22 cents/share on revenues of $1.74 billion. We'll have to wait for Thursday to see if Fifth Third Bancorp falls in line with analyst expectations and reports an increase in EPS and a slight decline in revenue from the year-ago quarter.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance:

As of October 14, 2011, Fifth Third Bancorp's current share price was $11.34. Since January 1st, shares of Fifth Third Bancorp have declined 21.4%. For a full 12 months, the return has declined by 10.4%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably a little upset going into this earnings release.

• Long-term shareholders are already wary of 12-month losses prior to the announcement

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts for Fifth Third Bancorp is a Moderate Buy. Over the past three months this rating's strength has declined slightly.

Competitors:

Looking for a sympathy stock to trade or interested in the performance of other companies in the same sector? Take a look at some of Fifth Third Bancorp's peers.

• Bank of America (NYSE: BAC): Hold with a -$0.90 recent quarter EPS
• FirstMerit (NASDAQ: FMER): Hold with a $0.27 recent quarter EPS
• Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN): Hold with a $0.16 recent quarter EPS

The banks-major regional company's industry has seen price/earnings growth of 0.9% during the current fiscal year.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company which conducts its lending, deposit gathering, transaction processing and service advisory activities through its subsidiaries.

Take Action:

Now that you have reviewed all the numbers, be ready to move if the upcoming Fifth Third Bancorp earnings report has any surprises. Also, come back to Benzinga after the announcement for a full recap and a guide to your next steps.

• To see up-to-date news on Fifth Third Bancorp, click here
• To see other trading ideas, click here
• To see other company earnings recaps, click here