Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Stephens upgraded Fulton Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Fulton Financial from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Fulton Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.33.

Fulton Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FULT opened at $20.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.90. Fulton Financial has a fifty-two week low of $13.87 and a fifty-two week high of $22.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.79.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.06. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 11.41%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Fulton Financial will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is 45.86%.

Insider Transactions at Fulton Financial

In other Fulton Financial news, CEO Curtis J. Myers sold 24,192 shares of the company’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 owns 155,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,299,817.36. This represents a 13.43 % 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. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fulton Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 4.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,544,159 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $191,166,000 after buying an additional 444,219 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,371,223 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $79,264,000 after acquiring an additional 85,574 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 511.1% in the 2nd 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,358,099 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,752,000 after purchasing an additional 31,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Fulton Financial by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,908,477 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,601,000 after purchasing an additional 77,072 shares during the last quarter. 72.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.