Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.00.

Several research firms recently weighed in on FULT. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Fulton Financial in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fulton Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Fulton Financial in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock.

Fulton Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ FULT opened at $21.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.23. Fulton Financial has a 1 year low of $16.60 and a 1 year high of $22.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 20.85% and a return on equity of 12.69%. The firm had revenue of $331.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.36 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fulton Financial will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is 36.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $107,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 80,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,723,817.34. The trade was a 5.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Fulton Financial by 89.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Fulton Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Fulton Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Fulton Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Fulton Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 72.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.