Fulton Financial (FULT) Competitors

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) and Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, risk, valuation, dividends, community ranking, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Does the media favor FULT or SFNC?

In the previous week, Fulton Financial had 21 more articles in the media than Simmons First National. MarketBeat recorded 33 mentions for Fulton Financial and 12 mentions for Simmons First National. Simmons First National's average media sentiment score of 0.72 beat Fulton Financial's score of 0.32 indicating that Simmons First National is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Fulton Financial	6 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	13 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Simmons First National	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is FULT or SFNC a better dividend stock?

Fulton Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Simmons First National pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. Fulton Financial pays out 42.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Simmons First National pays out 63.2% 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.

Is FULT or SFNC more profitable?

Fulton Financial has a net margin of 18.31% compared to Simmons First National's net margin of 11.97%. Fulton Financial's return on equity of 11.50% beat Simmons First National's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fulton Financial	18.31%	11.50%	1.06%
Simmons First National	11.97%	5.94%	0.73%

Do analysts rate FULT or SFNC?

Fulton Financial presently has a consensus price target of $17.60, suggesting a potential upside of 3.35%. Simmons First National has a consensus price target of $21.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.80%. Given Simmons First National's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Simmons First National is more favorable than Fulton Financial.

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
Simmons First National	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has more volatility and risk, FULT or SFNC?

Fulton Financial has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Simmons First National has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in FULT or SFNC?

72.0% of Fulton Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.6% of Simmons First National shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Fulton Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Simmons First National shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in FULT or SFNC?

Fulton Financial received 1 more outperform votes than Simmons First National when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 48.47% of users gave Simmons First National an outperform vote while only 46.08% of users gave Fulton Financial an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Fulton Financial	Outperform Votes 270 46.08%	Underperform Votes 316 53.92%
Simmons First National	Outperform Votes 269 48.47%	Underperform Votes 286 51.53%

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, FULT or SFNC?

Fulton Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Simmons First National. Fulton Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Simmons First National, 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	$1.50B	1.84	$284.28M	$1.61	10.58
Simmons First National	$1.37B	1.65	$175.06M	$1.33	13.52

Summary

Fulton Financial beats Simmons First National on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.