Stephens analyst Matt Breese downgraded Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: FULT) to Equal-Weight from Overweight, primarily due to valuation, raising the price target to $16 from $14.
In addition to valuation, given the company's asset-sensitive balance sheet with NII expected to decline ~4.1%, if rates declined 100bp juxtaposed with the analyst's forecasts calling for 75bp and 50bp of rate cuts in 2024 and 2025, the analyst notes it's an opportune time to move to the sidelines from a rating perspective.
The analyst remains supportive of FULT's balance sheet composition, highlighted by a low CRE concentration at 175% CRE/ total risk-based capital, low office ...