Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on FULT. Piper Sandler set a $21.00 price target on Fulton Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Fulton Financial from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens upgraded Fulton Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fulton Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.33.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ FULT opened at $20.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.46 and a 200 day moving average of $19.16. Fulton Financial has a one year low of $13.87 and a one year high of $22.49.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.06. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 11.41%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fulton Financial will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. This is an increase from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is currently 45.86%.

Insider Transactions at Fulton Financial

In related news, CEO Curtis J. Myers sold 24,192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.16, for a total value of $511,902.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 155,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,299,817.36. This represents a 13.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fulton Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 567,790 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,007,000 after purchasing an additional 34,844 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Fulton Financial by 130.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 557,303 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,104,000 after buying an additional 315,435 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,489,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,371,223 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,264,000 after buying an additional 85,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 145.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 89,378 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,620,000 after acquiring an additional 52,997 shares during the last quarter. 72.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.