Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $23.03 and last traded at $22.8910, with a volume of 303558 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on FULT. Weiss Ratings upgraded Fulton Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Fulton Financial in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Fulton Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fulton Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

Fulton Financial Trading Down 0.4%

The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.64. The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.80.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $331.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.36 million. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 20.85% and a return on equity of 12.69%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $107,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 80,477 shares in the company, valued at $1,723,817.34. This represents a 5.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fulton Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FULT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Fulton Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $44,271,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 219.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,822,385 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,557,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939,260 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 31.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 8,050,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $163,756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,912,709 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Fulton Financial during the second quarter worth about $22,069,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,590,883 shares of the bank’s stock worth $88,743,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054,321 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

About Fulton Financial

Fulton Financial Corporation, trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker FULT, is the financial holding company for Fulton Bank, headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The company delivers a broad range of banking and financial services through its subsidiary, Fulton Bank, targeting both individual and corporate clients. Fulton Financial’s offerings include deposit accounts, lending solutions, treasury management, and specialized banking services designed to support personal wealth goals and business growth initiatives.

Through Fulton Bank, the company provides retail banking services such as checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, and home equity products.