Brokerages Set Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) Target Price at $20.90

Shares of Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.90.

FULT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Fulton Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Fulton Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th.

Fulton Financial Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FULT opened at $19.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.85. Fulton Financial has a 52 week low of $14.32 and a 52 week high of $21.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.78.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.07. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 19.01% and a return on equity of 12.75%. The firm had revenue of $264.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $332.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Fulton Financial will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.19 dividend. This is a boost from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.79%.

Fulton Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Fulton Financial

In other Fulton Financial news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $97,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 85,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,671,075.35. This represents a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fulton Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Fulton Financial during the second quarter valued at about $37,813,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Fulton Financial by 42.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,626,858 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,509,000 after buying an additional 1,676,495 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $22,069,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 2,825.4% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,021,992 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,040,000 after buying an additional 987,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Fulton Financial by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,583,100 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,753,000 after purchasing an additional 723,948 shares in the last quarter. 72.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.