Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) & Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Financial Review

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) and Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Volatility & Risk

Fulton Financial has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Financial Institutions has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Fulton Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Financial Institutions pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Fulton Financial pays out 36.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Financial Institutions pays out 33.3% 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 and Financial Institutions has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Financial Institutions is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Fulton Financial and Financial Institutions, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fulton Financial	0	5	2	0	2.29
Financial Institutions	0	2	2	0	2.50

Fulton Financial presently has a consensus target price of $23.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.31%. Financial Institutions has a consensus target price of $37.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.65%. Given Fulton Financial’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Fulton Financial is more favorable than Financial Institutions.

Profitability

This table compares Fulton Financial and Financial Institutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fulton Financial	20.85%	12.69%	1.28%
Financial Institutions	20.85%	13.08%	1.26%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Fulton Financial and Financial Institutions”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fulton Financial	$1.89 billion	2.10	$391.61 million	$2.10	9.93
Financial Institutions	$377.94 million	1.79	$74.87 million	$3.84	8.95

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

72.0% of Fulton Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.5% of Financial Institutions shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Fulton Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of Financial Institutions shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Fulton Financial beats Financial Institutions on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fulton Financial

Fulton Financial Corporation operates as a financial holding company that provides consumer and commercial banking products and services in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia. It accepts various checking accounts and savings deposit products, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company offers consumer loans products, including home equity loans and lines of credit, automobile loans, personal lines of credit, and checking account overdraft protection; construction and jumbo residential mortgage loans; and commercial lending products comprising commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, and construction loans, as well as equipment lease financing loans. In addition, it offers letters of credit, cash management services, and traditional deposit products; and wealth management services, including investment management, trust, brokerage, insurance, and investment advisory services. Further, the company owns trust preferred securities; and sells various life insurance products. It provides its products and services through financial center offices, as well as through a network of automated teller machines, telephone banking, mobile banking, and online banking. Fulton Financial Corporation was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

About Financial Institutions

Financial Institutions, Inc. operates as a holding company for the Five Star Bank, a chartered bank that provides banking and financial services to individuals, municipalities, and businesses in New York. The company provides checking and savings account programs, including money market accounts, certificates of deposit, sweep investments, and individual retirement and other qualified plan accounts, as well as NOW accounts. Its loan products include term loans and lines of credit; short and medium-term commercial loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment; commercial business loans to the agricultural industry; commercial mortgage loans; one-to-four family residential mortgage loans, home improvement loans, closed-end home equity loans, and home equity lines of credit; and consumer loans, such as automobile, secured installment, and personal loans. The company offers personal insurance products, including automobile, homeowners, boat, recreational vehicle, landlord, and umbrella coverage; commercial insurance comprising property, liability, automobile, inland marine, workers compensation, bonds, crop, and umbrella insurance products; and financial services, such as life and disability insurance, medicare supplements, long-term care, annuities, mutual funds, and retirement programs. In addition, it offers customized investment advisory, wealth management, investment consulting, and retirement plan services, as well as operates a real estate investment trust that holds residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans. Financial Institutions, Inc. was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Warsaw, New York.