Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) Short Interest Down 8.5% in September

Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,620,000 shares, a decrease of 8.5% from the August 31st total of 6,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Fulton Financial Stock Performance

FULT stock traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.34. 1,411,754 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,450,242. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.74. Fulton Financial has a 52 week low of $11.63 and a 52 week high of $20.33.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.22. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 17.93%. The firm had revenue of $334.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $296.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fulton Financial will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is currently 42.24%.

Institutional Trading of Fulton Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,805,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Fulton Financial by 76,320.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,642 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 7,632 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 62.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,490 shares of the bank’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 6,322 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 270,480 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,452,000 after purchasing an additional 94,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 72.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on FULT shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Fulton Financial from $18.50 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.40.

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.