Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) Short Interest Update

Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,060,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the November 30th total of 5,750,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Fulton Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FULT opened at $19.09 on Friday. Fulton Financial has a 1-year low of $13.87 and a 1-year high of $22.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.74. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.78.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 11.33% and a net margin of 16.37%. The firm had revenue of $487.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $321.00 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fulton Financial will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. This is a positive change from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.57%.

Insider Activity at Fulton Financial

In other news, CEO Curtis J. Myers sold 24,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.16, for a total transaction of $511,902.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 155,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,299,817.36. The trade was a 13.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fulton Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 2,723,170 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 213.6% in the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 1,307,559 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,706,000 after acquiring an additional 890,630 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 272.2% in the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 861,691 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,622,000 after acquiring an additional 630,152 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Fulton Financial by 710.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 699,652 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,880,000 after purchasing an additional 613,272 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Fulton Financial by 18.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,022,534 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,323,000 after purchasing an additional 474,099 shares during the last quarter. 72.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FULT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fulton Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Stephens upgraded Fulton Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $21.00 price objective on Fulton Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.50.

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.