Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.50.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens raised Fulton Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler set a $21.00 target price on shares of Fulton Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Fulton Financial Stock Down 0.3 %

FULT stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $20.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 953,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,437,480. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.42. Fulton Financial has a 12 month low of $13.87 and a 12 month high of $22.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.06. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The firm had revenue of $487.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $321.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fulton Financial will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Fulton Financial's dividend payout ratio is 43.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Curtis J. Myers sold 24,192 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.16, for a total value of $511,902.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 155,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,299,817.36. This trade represents a 13.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fulton Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,544,159 shares of the bank's stock worth $191,166,000 after buying an additional 444,219 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,371,223 shares of the bank's stock valued at $79,264,000 after acquiring an additional 85,574 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 511.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,256,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,287,000 after purchasing an additional 2,723,170 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,022,534 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,323,000 after purchasing an additional 474,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 28.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,542,068 shares of the bank's stock worth $43,164,000 after purchasing an additional 567,771 shares in 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.