Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Stephens raised their price target on the stock from $15.50 to $17.50. Stephens currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Fulton Financial traded as high as $17.36 and last traded at $17.32, with a volume of 3221553 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.06.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Fulton Financial from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Fulton Financial from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Fulton Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.50 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Fulton Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fulton Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FULT. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Fulton Financial in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,724 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Fulton Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in Fulton Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 72.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fulton Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $230.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $268.90 million. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 11.50% and a net margin of 18.31%. Analysts forecast that Fulton Financial Co. will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is currently 42.24%.

Fulton Financial Company Profile

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.