Fulton Financial (FULT) Competitors

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Do analysts recommend ABCB or FULT?

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $72.14, indicating a potential upside of 0.09%. Fulton Financial has a consensus target price of $21.13, indicating a potential upside of 7.56%. Given Fulton Financial's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Fulton Financial is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
Fulton Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.17

Does the media refer more to ABCB or FULT?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 2 more articles in the media than Fulton Financial. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 12 mentions for Fulton Financial. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.58 beat Fulton Financial's score of 1.48 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ameris Bancorp	13 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Fulton Financial	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, ABCB or FULT?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fulton Financial has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ABCB or FULT more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Fulton Financial's net margin of 17.00%. Fulton Financial's return on equity of 12.64% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Fulton Financial	17.00%	12.64%	1.20%

Is ABCB or FULT a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Fulton Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fulton Financial pays out 42.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Fulton Financial has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Fulton Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, ABCB or FULT?

Ameris Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Fulton Financial. Fulton Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ameris Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.39	$358.68M	$5.68	12.69
Fulton Financial	$1.86B	1.92	$288.74M	$1.71	11.49

Do institutionals and insiders believe in ABCB or FULT?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.0% of Fulton Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Fulton Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Fulton Financial on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.