Squarepoint Ops LLC Makes New $647,000 Investment in Fulton Financial Corporation $FULT

Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 35,864 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $647,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fulton Financial by 373.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,311 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 1,669.6% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,982 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,870 shares during the period. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fulton Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in Fulton Financial during the 1st quarter worth $152,000. 72.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Fulton Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Fulton Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fulton Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.90.

Fulton Financial Trading Down 0.4%

FULT opened at $20.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $18.30 and its 200-day moving average is $18.51. Fulton Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $14.32 and a 1-year high of $21.40.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 8th. The bank reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 19.01% and a return on equity of 12.75%. The business had revenue of $236.96 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 16th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This is a positive change from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.70%.

Fulton Financial Company Profile

Fulton Financial Corporation, trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker FULT, is the financial holding company for Fulton Bank, headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The company delivers a broad range of banking and financial services through its subsidiary, Fulton Bank, targeting both individual and corporate clients. Fulton Financial’s offerings include deposit accounts, lending solutions, treasury management, and specialized banking services designed to support personal wealth goals and business growth initiatives.

Through Fulton Bank, the company provides retail banking services such as checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, and home equity products.