Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) Increases Dividend to $0.19 Per Share

Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of 0.19 per share by the bank on Thursday, January 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a 5.6% increase from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18.

Fulton Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 4 years. Fulton Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 35.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Fulton Financial to earn $2.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.3%.

Fulton Financial Stock Performance

FULT traded up $0.74 on Wednesday, reaching $20.65. The company had a trading volume of 521,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,483,410. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Fulton Financial has a fifty-two week low of $14.32 and a fifty-two week high of $21.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $18.07 and its 200 day moving average is $18.40.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 8th. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $236.96 million during the quarter. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 19.01%. As a group, analysts predict that Fulton Financial will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Fulton Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $37,813,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Fulton Financial by 42.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,626,858 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,495 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial during the second quarter worth $22,069,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 2,825.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,021,992 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,040,000 after buying an additional 987,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fulton Financial during the first quarter worth $17,263,000. 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.