Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Downgraded to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Fulton Financial (FULT) from a "hold" to a "sell," while the analyst consensus remains an average "Hold" with an average price target of $23.00.
• Shares trade around $21.62 (52‑week range $16.60–$22.99) with a market cap of $3.89B and a P/E of 10.3; Fulton reported Q1 EPS of $0.55 (beat by $0.05) but revenue of $331.9M missed estimates.
• Director E. Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares, and institutional ownership is high at 72%, with large recent stake increases from firms including First Trust, Price T. Rowe and Goldman Sachs.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on FULT. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Fulton Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Fulton Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Fulton Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.00.

Fulton Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of FULT opened at $21.62 on Friday. Fulton Financial has a 52 week low of $16.60 and a 52 week high of $22.99. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $20.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 12.50% and a net margin of 20.85%.The business had revenue of $331.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.36 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fulton Financial will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $107,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 80,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,723,817.34. The trade was a 5.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FULT. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,138,214 shares of the bank's stock valued at $118,652,000 after buying an additional 491,501 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,590,883 shares of the bank's stock valued at $88,743,000 after buying an additional 1,054,321 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 25.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,583,100 shares of the bank's stock valued at $66,753,000 after buying an additional 723,948 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 6.4% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,363,509 shares of the bank's stock valued at $62,662,000 after buying an additional 203,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 219.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,822,385 shares of the bank's stock valued at $54,557,000 after buying an additional 1,939,260 shares in the last quarter. 72.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Fulton Financial

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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