Jefferies Initiates Coverage on Fulton Financial with Hold and PT of $12

Jefferies initiated coverage on Fulton Financial

with a Hold rating and a price target of $12. In a research report published today, Jefferies stressed it believes Fulton is emerging strongly from the credit cycle but its growth will be limited by lack of investment opportunities. In the report, Jefferies states, "FULT is emerging from the credit cycle with strong capital ratios and is well- positioned to go on the offensive to boost earnings power. However, we see few opportunities to deploy excess capital given expectations for light M&A activity near-term and tepid loan demand." On Thursday, Fulton added 0.64% to its value to close the day at $11.04.