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

Shares of Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.50.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FULT. Piper Sandler set a $21.00 price target on Fulton Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com lowered Fulton Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Stephens raised shares of Fulton Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Fulton Financial Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ FULT opened at $19.06 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Fulton Financial has a 52 week low of $13.87 and a 52 week high of $22.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.90.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The bank reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.06. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The firm had revenue of $487.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $321.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Fulton Financial will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Curtis J. Myers sold 24,192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.16, for a total value of $511,902.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 155,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,299,817.36. This trade represents a 13.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Fulton Financial by 511.1% in 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 last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its position in Fulton Financial by 213.6% during the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 1,307,559 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,706,000 after buying an additional 890,630 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 272.2% in the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 861,691 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,622,000 after buying an additional 630,152 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 710.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 699,652 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,880,000 after acquiring an additional 613,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Fulton Financial by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,022,534 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,323,000 after purchasing an additional 474,099 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

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.