Short Interest in Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) Drops By 8.5%

Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,320,000 shares, a decrease of 8.5% from the March 31st total of 8,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.7 days. Approximately 4.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on FULT. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Fulton Financial from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Fulton Financial from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Fulton Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.50 target price for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Fulton Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Fulton Financial Stock Up 7.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ FULT traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $16.80. 11,176,877 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,256,688. The company has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.81. Fulton Financial has a 12 month low of $9.64 and a 12 month high of $17.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.08.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FULT. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Fulton Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Fulton Financial by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,724 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Fulton Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fulton Financial in the first quarter worth $36,000. 72.02% of the stock is currently 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.