Dean Capital Management Acquires 44,665 Shares of Fulton Financial Corporation $FULT

Dean Capital Management grew its holdings in Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) by 121.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,416 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,665 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management’s holdings in Fulton Financial were worth $1,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC bought a new position in Fulton Financial in the third quarter valued at $6,323,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Fulton Financial by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,266,534 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,596,000 after buying an additional 71,353 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 244.8% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 171,458 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,194,000 after buying an additional 121,735 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 58,780 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,095,000 after buying an additional 5,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 27,871 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 12,291 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

Fulton Financial Stock Down 0.4%

Fulton Financial stock opened at $19.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.84 and its 200-day moving average is $19.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.85. Fulton Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $14.32 and a fifty-two week high of $22.99.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business had revenue of $336.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.80 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Fulton Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 16th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to buy up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 3.9%. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is 36.54%.

Insider Activity at Fulton Financial

In other news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of Fulton Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 85,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,671,075.35. The trade was a 5.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Fulton Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Fulton Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fulton Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.50.

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.