Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Stephens

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $16.00 target price on the bank’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Fulton Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Fulton Financial from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fulton Financial has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $15.30.

Fulton Financial Stock Up 3.9 %

NASDAQ:FULT opened at $14.99 on Wednesday. Fulton Financial has a 52 week low of $9.64 and a 52 week high of $17.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $15.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.02. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 11.50% and a net margin of 18.31%. The firm had revenue of $271.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $268.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. Fulton Financial’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.54%. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fulton Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,724 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Fulton Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fulton Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Fulton Financial by 1,554.1% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,200 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,067 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

About Fulton Financial

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.