Emerald Advisers LLC Makes New $7.08 Million Investment in Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT)

Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 416,929 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $7,079,000. Emerald Advisers LLC owned 0.23% of Fulton Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Fulton Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in shares of Fulton Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Fulton Financial during the second quarter worth $46,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Fulton Financial by 21.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,840 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fulton Financial during the first quarter valued at about $66,000. Institutional investors own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

Fulton Financial Trading Down 2.4 %

FULT opened at $17.96 on Friday. Fulton Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $11.63 and a fifty-two week high of $20.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $18.26 and its 200 day moving average is $16.77.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 posted $0.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Fulton Financial Co. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 1st. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on FULT shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Fulton Financial from $18.50 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com raised Fulton Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.40.

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.