Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) Short Interest Up 24.0% in December

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fulton Financial news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 85,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,671,075.35. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fulton Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FULT. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $871,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 5.8% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 337,518 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,089,000 after acquiring an additional 18,432 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Fulton Financial by 10.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,859,152 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,579,000 after acquiring an additional 260,016 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Fulton Financial by 42.4% during 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 period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Fulton Financial by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 421,379 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,526,000 after purchasing an additional 59,112 shares during the last quarter. 72.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Fulton Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Fulton Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.90.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

Shares of FULT traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $19.81. 258,551 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,571,541. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Fulton Financial has a fifty-two week low of $14.32 and a fifty-two week high of $21.40. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.14 and its 200 day moving average is $18.78.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $332.51 million. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 19.01% and a return on equity of 12.75%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

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

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.