Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) Short Interest Update

Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 8,155,572 shares, an increase of 24.0% from the December 15th total of 6,575,315 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,038,469 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,038,469 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FULT traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $20.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,977,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,483,756. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Fulton Financial has a 52 week low of $14.32 and a 52 week high of $21.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.85.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $264.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.51 million. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 19.01%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.79%.

Fulton Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 16th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Fulton Financial

In other Fulton Financial news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $97,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 85,477 shares in the company, valued at $1,671,075.35. The trade was a 5.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fulton Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,646,713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,198,000 after buying an additional 19,855 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Fulton Financial by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,587,133 shares of the bank’s stock worth $82,760,000 after purchasing an additional 50,122 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Fulton Financial by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,583,100 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,753,000 after buying an additional 723,948 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 6.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,363,509 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,662,000 after acquiring an additional 203,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Fulton Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $37,813,000. Institutional investors own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on FULT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Raymond James Financial raised Fulton Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Fulton Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.90.

Fulton Financial Company Profile

Fulton Financial Corporation, trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker FULT, is the financial holding company for Fulton Bank, headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The company delivers a broad range of banking and financial services through its subsidiary, Fulton Bank, targeting both individual and corporate clients. Fulton Financial’s offerings include deposit accounts, lending solutions, treasury management, and specialized banking services designed to support personal wealth goals and business growth initiatives.

Through Fulton Bank, the company provides retail banking services such as checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, and home equity products.