Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $20.50, but opened at $21.35. Fulton Financial shares last traded at $20.94, with a volume of 80,691 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is currently 45.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FULT has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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. Piper Sandler set a $21.00 target price on Fulton Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.50.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

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

Insider Transactions at Fulton Financial

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fulton Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP bought a new position in Fulton Financial during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners bought a new position in Fulton Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $54,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Fulton Financial by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,840 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Fulton Financial by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the period. 72.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.