Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Fulton Financial Corporation $FULT

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Fulton Financial by 54.4% in the first quarter, buying an additional 468,081 shares and bringing its total holding to 1,328,889 shares worth about $27.0 million.
• Fulton Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.55 per share, topping estimates by $0.05, though revenue came in below analyst expectations.
• The bank recently paid a $0.19 quarterly dividend for an annualized yield of 3.1%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $23.50.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT - Free Report) by 54.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,328,889 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 468,081 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.74% of Fulton Financial worth $27,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 89.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Fulton Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in Fulton Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 72.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Fulton Financial

In other Fulton Financial news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.14, for a total value of $120,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 75,477 shares in the company, valued at $1,822,014.78. The trade was a 6.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Fulton Financial Trading Down 1.0%

FULT stock opened at $24.54 on Tuesday. Fulton Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $16.60 and a 1-year high of $25.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.54.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 20.85% and a return on equity of 12.69%. The firm had revenue of $331.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $359.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. Fulton Financial's payout ratio is currently 36.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FULT shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fulton Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler set a $23.00 target price on shares of Fulton Financial and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Fulton Financial from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.50.

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.

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