Key Points
- E. Philip Wenger, a Fulton Financial director, sold 5,000 shares on Jan. 12 at an average price of $19.55 for a total of $97,750, reducing his ownership by 5.53% to 85,477 shares.
- The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.19 (annualized $0.76, ~3.9% yield) and the board authorized a $150 million buyback program to repurchase up to about 4.2% of shares.
- Fulton beat EPS estimates ($0.55 vs. $0.48) but missed revenue expectations in the most recent quarter, and analysts have a consensus Hold rating with a $20.90 price target.
Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $97,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 85,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,671,075.35. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.
Fulton Financial Trading Up 1.7%
Shares of FULT stock opened at $19.64 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.85. Fulton Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $14.32 and a twelve month high of $21.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $18.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.75.
Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $264.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.51 million. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 19.01%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Fulton Financial Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a $0.19 dividend. This is an increase from Fulton Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Fulton Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.79%.
Fulton Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 16th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fulton Financial
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Fulton Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $37,813,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 42.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,626,858 shares of the bank's stock worth $101,509,000 after buying an additional 1,676,495 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Fulton Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $22,069,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 2,825.4% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,021,992 shares of the bank's stock worth $19,040,000 after buying an additional 987,057 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,583,100 shares of the bank's stock valued at $66,753,000 after acquiring an additional 723,948 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.02% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of analysts recently weighed in on FULT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Fulton Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Fulton Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.90.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on FULT
About Fulton Financial
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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