September 15, 2021

Cincinnati’s largest locally owned bank increased its quarterly dividend on common shares by 11% to 30 cents per share. Cincinnati Business Courier reporter Steve Watkins notes Fifth Third has boosted the dividend every year for six years now. He asked our Jim Russell what the news means for shareholders.

“The dividend increase is tangible evidence of management’s confidence in future stability in loan volumes and continued strong credit trends,” Jim Russell, principal and portfolio manager at downtown-based Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel, which specializes in investing in companies that pay growing dividends, told me.

Combine the dividend increase with Fifth Third’s stock buybacks and it’s a strong indicator of Fifth Third’s financial strength, Russell said.

“The return of capital to shareholders through both the repurchase program and the dividend underscore the bank’s strong capital position and excess cash flows that are markers of a regional bank operating at a high level in this low interest rate environment,” Russell said.

 

Jim Russell
Portfolio Manager
jrussell@bahl-gaynor.com

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