Analysts Set Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) Price Target at $20.64

Shares of Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.64.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FULT. Stephens raised Fulton Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Fulton Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson raised their price target on Fulton Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Fulton Financial from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price target on Fulton Financial from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

Fulton Financial stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $20.59. 703,182 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,566,430. Fulton Financial has a 52-week low of $13.87 and a 52-week high of $22.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 0.79.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.06. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 15.87%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fulton Financial will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is an increase from Fulton Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Fulton Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Angela M. Snyder sold 13,322 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.69, for a total value of $275,632.18. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 63,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,317,580.58. This trade represents a 17.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Curtis J. Myers sold 24,192 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.16, for a total transaction of $511,902.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 155,946 shares in the company, valued at $3,299,817.36. This trade represents a 13.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Fulton Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fulton Financial in the second quarter worth $1,144,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Fulton Financial by 18.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,678 shares of the bank's stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 5,314 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fulton Financial during the second quarter worth about $306,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 6.0% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 57,696 shares of the bank's stock worth $980,000 after buying an additional 3,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 900.4% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 86,081 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,561,000 after buying an additional 77,476 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.02% of the company's stock.

About Fulton Financial

Fulton Financial Corporation operates as a financial holding company that provides consumer and commercial banking products and services in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia. It accepts various checking accounts and savings deposit products, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.