Short Interest in Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) Decreases By 30.3%

Key Points

• Short interest fell 30.3% in April to 8,921,703 shares (about 5.0% of shares shorted), leaving a short-interest ratio of roughly 4.6 days based on average volume.
• Fulton reported Q1 EPS of $0.55, beating the $0.50 estimate while revenue missed forecasts, and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.19 (annualized yield ~3.5%).
• A director sold 5,000 shares (insiders own just 0.01%), while institutional investors hold about 72.02% of the stock.

Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 8,921,703 shares, a drop of 30.3% from the March 31st total of 12,802,764 shares. Approximately 5.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,946,283 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 80,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,723,817.34. This trade represents a 5.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Fulton Financial by 89.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FULT. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Fulton Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Fulton Financial in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fulton Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FULT traded down $0.17 on Tuesday, hitting $21.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,589,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,057,433. Fulton Financial has a twelve month low of $16.31 and a twelve month high of $22.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $20.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.81. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.81.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 20.85% and a return on equity of 12.50%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fulton Financial will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Fulton Financial's dividend payout ratio is 36.19%.

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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