Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.40.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FULT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Fulton Financial from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com raised Fulton Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Fulton Financial from $18.50 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Fulton Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.50 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Fulton Financial from $15.50 to $17.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th.

Fulton Financial Stock Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:FULT opened at $18.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.75. Fulton Financial has a 52-week low of $11.63 and a 52-week high of $20.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.42.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $334.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $296.38 million. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 17.93%. Fulton Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fulton Financial will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is 42.24%.

Institutional Trading of Fulton Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $306,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 710.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 699,652 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,880,000 after buying an additional 613,272 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 511.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,256,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,287,000 after purchasing an additional 2,723,170 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 18.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,678 shares of the bank’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 5,314 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Fulton Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $1,144,000. 72.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Fulton Financial

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.