Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.90.

FULT has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Fulton Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Fulton Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

Shares of FULT opened at $20.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Fulton Financial has a 1-year low of $14.32 and a 1-year high of $21.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.77.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.07. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 19.01%.The firm had revenue of $264.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Fulton Financial declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is 39.79%.

Insider Activity at Fulton Financial

In other Fulton Financial news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $97,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 85,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,671,075.35. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fulton Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 373.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,311 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Fulton Financial by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 777 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 48.0% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,995 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Fulton Financial during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

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.