Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Issues Earnings Results

Key Points

• Fulton Financial beat expectations, reporting $0.55 EPS for the quarter versus the $0.42 consensus, with a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 12.78%.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.19 (annualized $0.76), implying a 3.5% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 36.54%.
• Shares traded near $21.84 (PE 10.5) with a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.00, while institutional ownership is high at about 72%.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.13, FiscalAI reports. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 12.78%.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

Shares of Fulton Financial stock traded down $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $21.84. The company had a trading volume of 2,358,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,053,444. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.81. Fulton Financial has a 52 week low of $16.26 and a 52 week high of $22.99.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Fulton Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fulton Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Fulton Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $107,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 80,477 shares in the company, valued at $1,723,817.34. This trade represents a 5.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fulton Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Fulton Financial by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,138,214 shares of the bank's stock worth $118,652,000 after buying an additional 491,501 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Fulton Financial by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,590,883 shares of the bank's stock worth $88,743,000 after buying an additional 1,054,321 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fulton Financial by 219.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,822,385 shares of the bank's stock worth $54,557,000 after buying an additional 1,939,260 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Fulton Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,843,560 shares of the bank's stock worth $35,636,000 after buying an additional 38,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Fulton Financial by 6.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,266,534 shares of the bank's stock worth $23,596,000 after buying an additional 71,353 shares in the last quarter. 72.02% of the stock is currently owned by 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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