Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.64.

FULT has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Fulton Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Fulton Financial from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of Fulton Financial from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised Fulton Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens raised Fulton Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Fulton Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Fulton Financial stock opened at $19.67 on Thursday. Fulton Financial has a twelve month low of $13.87 and a twelve month high of $22.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.44. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.79.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 15.87%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is 45.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Angela M. Snyder sold 13,322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.69, for a total transaction of $275,632.18. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 63,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,317,580.58. The trade was a 17.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Curtis J. Myers sold 24,192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.16, for a total transaction of $511,902.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 155,946 shares in the company, valued at $3,299,817.36. This represents a 13.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fulton Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 193.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,294 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Fulton Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Fulton Financial by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,200 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 196.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,976 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 2,637 shares in the last quarter. 72.02% of the stock is 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.