Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Fulton Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fulton Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Fulton Financial from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Fulton Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.13.

Fulton Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FULT stock opened at $19.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. Fulton Financial has a one year low of $14.32 and a one year high of $22.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.85.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.12. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 17.00% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $328.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $320.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.11%.

Insider Activity at Fulton Financial

In related news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.28, for a total transaction of $96,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 90,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,396.56. This trade represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fulton Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EJF Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Fulton Financial by 2.6% during the second quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 22,686 shares of the bank’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Fulton Financial by 1.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,303 shares of the bank’s stock worth $657,000 after buying an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Fulton Financial by 2.0% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 35,552 shares of the bank’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Fulton Financial by 5.5% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,775 shares of the bank’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Fulton Financial by 0.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 88,351 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,594,000 after buying an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. 72.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fulton Financial Company Profile

Fulton Financial Corporation operates as a financial holding company that provides consumer and commercial banking products and services in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia. It accepts various checking accounts and savings deposit products, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.