AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 128,443 Shares of Fulton Financial Corporation $FULT

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) by 92.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 266,955 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 128,443 shares during the period. Fulton Financial accounts for approximately 0.3% of AlphaQuest LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. AlphaQuest LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Fulton Financial worth $4,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Fulton Financial by 42.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,626,858 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,509,000 after buying an additional 1,676,495 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,587,133 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $82,760,000 after acquiring an additional 50,122 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Fulton Financial by 10.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,859,152 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,579,000 after acquiring an additional 260,016 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Fulton Financial during the second quarter worth about $37,813,000. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,732,904 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,284,000 after purchasing an additional 27,570 shares in the last quarter. 72.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FULT shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Fulton Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company 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 research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.50.

Fulton Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FULT opened at $20.64 on Friday. Fulton Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $14.32 and a 1 year high of $21.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.85.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 12.59% and a net margin of 20.68%.The firm had revenue of $336.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is 36.54%.

Fulton Financial announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Fulton Financial

In other Fulton Financial news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,671,075.35. The trade was 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 the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fulton Financial 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.