Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Price Target to $21.00

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) had its price objective lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $24.00 to $21.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on FULT. StockNews.com upgraded Fulton Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on Fulton Financial from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Fulton Financial in a research note on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fulton Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.79.

Fulton Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of FULT opened at $15.88 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.20. Fulton Financial has a one year low of $14.33 and a one year high of $22.49. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.68.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $322.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.07 million. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 11.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Fulton Financial will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Angela M. Snyder sold 13,322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.69, for a total value of $275,632.18. Following the sale, the president now owns 63,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,317,580.58. The trade was a 17.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fulton Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 193.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,294 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Fulton Financial by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,200 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fulton Financial in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 42.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,072 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the period. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 114.5% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 3,217 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,717 shares in the last quarter. 72.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.