Fulton Financial (FULT) Competitors

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

Which has higher earnings & valuation, FULT or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings 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
Fulton Financial	$1.86B	1.87	$288.74M	$1.70	11.23
Ameris Bancorp	$1.12B	4.15	$358.68M	$5.40	12.54

Is FULT or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Fulton Financial's net margin of 16.59%. Fulton Financial's return on equity of 12.19% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fulton Financial	16.59%	12.19%	1.14%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Does the media refer more to FULT or ABCB?

In the previous week, Fulton Financial had 6 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Fulton Financial and 4 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Fulton Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.47 indicating that Fulton Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Fulton Financial	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more risk and volatility, FULT or ABCB?

Fulton Financial has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate FULT or ABCB?

Fulton Financial currently has a consensus price target of $20.88, indicating a potential upside of 9.32%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $71.43, indicating a potential upside of 5.45%. Given Fulton Financial's higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Fulton Financial is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fulton Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in FULT or ABCB?

72.0% of Fulton Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Fulton Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is FULT or ABCB a better dividend stock?

Fulton Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Fulton Financial pays out 42.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.8% 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 increased 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.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Fulton Financial on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.