Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Fulton Financial hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $24.82 after closing previously at $24.42, signaling strong recent momentum in the stock.
• Recent analyst views are mixed: Raymond James raised its price target to $26 and kept an outperform rating, while the overall consensus remains Hold with an average target price of $23.50.
• The bank posted solid fundamentals, including Q1 EPS of $0.55 versus estimates of $0.50 and a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, which annualizes to a 3.0% yield.

Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $24.82 and last traded at $24.8510, with a volume of 94744 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FULT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $23.00 price objective on Fulton Financial and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fulton Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Fulton Financial from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $23.50.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 0.79.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $331.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.36 million. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 20.85%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. Fulton Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.19%.

Insider Transactions at Fulton Financial

In other Fulton Financial news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of Fulton Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.14, for a total transaction of $120,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 75,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,822,014.78. This trade represents a 6.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fulton Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FULT. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Fulton Financial by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 220,706 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 10,242 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 108,096 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 4,727 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 448,832 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,119,000 after buying an additional 21,596 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 914.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 308,243 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,576,000 after buying an additional 277,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $152,000. 72.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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