Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $17.96, but opened at $17.36. Fulton Financial shares last traded at $17.7740, with a volume of 517,891 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FULT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered Fulton Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Fulton Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Fulton Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fulton Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.90.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $17.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 8th. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 19.01%.The company had revenue of $236.96 million during the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 1st. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.70%.

Insider Activity at Fulton Financial

In related news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.28, for a total value of $96,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 90,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,396.56. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fulton Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FULT. EJF Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 2.6% in the second quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 22,686 shares of the bank’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Fulton Financial by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 53,768 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Fulton Financial by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,995 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in Fulton Financial by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 52,371 shares of the bank’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 35,552 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. 72.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.