Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $21.72 and last traded at $21.68, with a volume of 402607 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on FULT. StockNews.com cut shares of Fulton Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler set a $21.00 price target on shares of Fulton Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fulton Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.83.

Fulton Financial Stock Up 1.7 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.94. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $487.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $321.00 million. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 11.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fulton Financial Co. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is 43.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FULT. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 511.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,256,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723,170 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its stake in Fulton Financial by 213.6% during the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 1,307,559 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,706,000 after purchasing an additional 890,630 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust increased its stake in Fulton Financial by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 861,691 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,622,000 after purchasing an additional 630,152 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Fulton Financial by 710.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Fulton Financial by 28.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,542,068 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,164,000 after purchasing an additional 567,771 shares in the last quarter. 72.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.