5 Best Safe Dividend Stocks for 2026

3. Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Dividend Yield as of March 16: 3.63%

On March 16, JPMorgan analyst Vivek Juneja resumed coverage of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) with an Overweight rating. The firm also set a price target of $50.50, raised from $45, after a period of restriction. In a research note, the analyst said the bank’s commercial and industrial loan growth has improved during the first two months of the year. He also noted that Fifth Third remains confident it can achieve 35% savings from Comerica’s expense base.

Separately, CEO Tim Spence said the company’s use of artificial intelligence has delivered “pretty remarkable” cost savings. “At financial institutions, we should experiment more than maybe we have historically,” Spence said Wednesday during an interview with Bloomberg Television. The regional bank began rolling out AI tools about two years ago to improve productivity, starting with Copilot from Microsoft, according to Spence. Last year, about one-third of the company’s released code was written by AI. That share increased to 40% during the first two months of 2026.

Last month, Fifth Third completed its acquisition of Comerica Inc., bringing its total assets to nearly $300 billion. Spence said the bank has managed to operate with 20% fewer employees than a decade ago, even as its size has doubled, helped by AI and traditional automation tools.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) is a diversified financial services company and the indirect holding company of Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Its Commercial Banking segment provides credit intermediation, cash management, and financial services to large and middle-market businesses, as well as government and professional clients.