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

Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $20.74 and last traded at $20.13, with a volume of 56309 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FULT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Fulton Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler set a $21.00 target price on Fulton Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fulton Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.83.

Fulton Financial Stock Down 4.8 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The bank reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $487.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $321.00 million. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 16.37%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Fulton Financial Co. will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.04%.

Institutional Trading of Fulton Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners acquired a new position in shares of Fulton Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Fulton Financial by 21.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Fulton Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Fulton Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $172,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

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.