Analysts Set Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) Target Price at $18.40

Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.40.

Several research firms recently commented on FULT. Stephens upped their price objective on Fulton Financial from $15.50 to $17.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Fulton Financial from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Fulton Financial from $18.50 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Fulton Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Fulton Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FULT opened at $18.11 on Friday. Fulton Financial has a twelve month low of $11.63 and a twelve month high of $20.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $17.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.42. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.22. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 17.93%. The firm had revenue of $334.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $296.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fulton Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FULT. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 511.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,256,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723,170 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Fulton Financial in the fourth quarter worth $27,805,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,593,793 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,043,000 after purchasing an additional 686,269 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 710.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 699,652 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,880,000 after purchasing an additional 613,272 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 28.8% in the second 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

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.