Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Stephens raised their price target on the stock from $15.50 to $17.50. Stephens currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Fulton Financial traded as high as $17.36 and last traded at $17.32, with a volume of 3221553 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.06.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on FULT. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Fulton Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Fulton Financial from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com lowered Fulton Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Fulton Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.50 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Fulton Financial from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Institutional Trading of Fulton Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FULT. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Fulton Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 82.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,724 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Fulton Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Fulton Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $15.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.28. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is presently 42.24%.

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.