Brokerages Set Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) PT at $18.40

Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.40.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target 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.

Fulton Financial Stock Performance

FULT stock opened at $16.97 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Fulton Financial has a 12 month low of $11.63 and a 12 month high of $20.33.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $296.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is presently 42.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fulton Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,444,753 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $320,061,000 after purchasing an additional 216,465 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised 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 during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 18.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,022,534 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,323,000 after acquiring an additional 474,099 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $43,164,000 after acquiring an additional 567,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in Fulton Financial by 0.9% in the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,057,813 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,942,000 after purchasing an additional 17,955 shares during the period. 72.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.