Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) Receives $20.50 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.50.

A number of research firms have weighed in on FULT. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Fulton Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ FULT opened at $22.03 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.39 and its 200 day moving average is $19.07. Fulton Financial has a fifty-two week low of $14.32 and a fifty-two week high of $22.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.86.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $336.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.80 million. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 12.59% and a net margin of 20.68%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fulton Financial will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Fulton Financial declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 16th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.54%.

Insider Activity at Fulton Financial

In related news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $97,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 85,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,671,075.35. This 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fulton Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FULT. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 4.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 220,706 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 10,242 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 108,096 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,955,000 after buying an additional 4,727 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Fulton Financial by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 448,832 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,119,000 after purchasing an additional 21,596 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Fulton Financial by 914.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 308,243 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,576,000 after buying an additional 277,871 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in Fulton Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $152,000. Hedge funds and other 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.