Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $22.74 and traded as high as $22.86. Fulton Financial shares last traded at $22.69, with a volume of 1,529,794 shares changing hands.

Fulton Financial News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Fulton Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fulton Bank launched CashFlow Central, an integrated payments platform from Fiserv that combines accounts-receivable and accounts-payable tools for small businesses. The offering could strengthen Fulton’s commercial-banking relationships, improve customer retention and create opportunities for additional fee-based revenue. Fulton Bank Introduces CashFlow Central Platform
• Neutral Sentiment: Fulton Financial’s shares recently moved above their 200-day moving average, a technical development that may support investor sentiment and suggest improving longer-term momentum. However, the stock remains below its 50-day moving average, indicating that near-term momentum is less convincing. Fulton Financial Share Price Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average
• Negative Sentiment: Raymond James downgraded Fulton Financial from Outperform to Market Perform and removed its $27 price target. The reduced conviction and lack of a stated upside target pressured the stock, with reports linking the recent decline directly to the rating change. The downgrade appears to be the main reason for the weaker share performance, although the reports variously refer to Fulton’s common shares and preferred stock. Raymond James Downgrades Fulton Financial and Removes Price Target

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Fulton Financial from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Fulton Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Fulton Financial in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fulton Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fulton Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.75.

Fulton Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 12.68% and a net margin of 20.63%.The business had revenue of $367.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $358.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 36.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fulton Financial

In other news, Director Lisa Crutchfield sold 4,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.80, for a total value of $101,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,838 shares in the company, valued at $194,382.40. This trade represents a 34.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director E. Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.14, for a total transaction of $120,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 75,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,822,014.78. The trade was a 6.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fulton Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $676,732,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,177,001 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $227,333,000 after acquiring an additional 87,813 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 31.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 8,050,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $163,756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,912,709 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,008,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fulton Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,271,000. Institutional investors own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

Fulton Financial Company Profile

Fulton Financial Corporation is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Its principal subsidiary, Fulton Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

Fulton Bank offers consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, mortgages, credit cards, treasury management and other financial services. Through its wealth management and investment services, the company also provides trust, fiduciary, investment management and financial planning solutions.