Fulton Financial Corporation (FULT) - What Are Brokerages Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is neutral: Six brokerages give Fulton Financial a consensus “Hold” rating—four holds and two buys—with an average 12-month price target of $24.80.
• Quarterly results beat estimates: Fulton reported earnings of $0.62 per share versus forecasts of $0.55, while revenue of $367.26 million slightly exceeded expectations.
• The stock recently traded at $23.99, and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.19, equivalent to a 3.2% annual yield.

Shares of Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.80.

Several research firms have weighed in on FULT. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Fulton Financial from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $25.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of Fulton Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Raymond James Financial lowered Fulton Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Fulton Financial in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

Shares of Fulton Financial stock traded up $0.15 on Friday, hitting $23.99. 1,047,636 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,619,430. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $23.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 0.78. Fulton Financial has a one year low of $16.91 and a one year high of $25.23.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.07. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 12.97% and a net margin of 21.07%. The business had revenue of $367.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $366.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Fulton Financial will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 1st. Fulton Financial's payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

Insider Activity

In other Fulton Financial news, Director E. Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.69, for a total value of $118,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 70,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,669,600.13. The trade was a 6.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fulton Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $676,732,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Fulton Financial by 31.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 8,050,923 shares of the bank's stock valued at $163,756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,912,709 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial in the second quarter worth $46,008,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial in the second quarter worth $33,861,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fulton Financial by 347.3% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,205,319 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,191,000 after purchasing an additional 935,876 shares during the period. 72.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Fulton Financial

Fulton Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Its principal subsidiary, Fulton Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations. The company offers consumer and commercial deposit accounts, loans and other credit products, as well as mortgage, wealth management and related financial services. Its roots in banking date to the founding of Fulton National Bank in Lancaster in 1882. Fulton serves communities across the Mid-Atlantic, including Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia.

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