U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) versus Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Head-To-Head Survey

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Fulton Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. U.S. Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Fulton Financial pays out 45.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. U.S. Bancorp pays out 61.2% 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. U.S. Bancorp has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. U.S. Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

72.0% of Fulton Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.6% of U.S. Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Fulton Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of U.S. Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Fulton Financial has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U.S. Bancorp has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Fulton Financial and U.S. Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fulton Financial	$1.50 billion	2.53	$284.28 million	$1.58	13.20
U.S. Bancorp	$40.62 billion	1.86	$5.43 billion	$3.27	14.80

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

Profitability

This table compares Fulton Financial and U.S. Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fulton Financial	16.37%	11.33%	1.05%
U.S. Bancorp	12.92%	12.91%	0.96%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Fulton Financial and U.S. Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fulton Financial	0	3	2	0	2.40
U.S. Bancorp	0	9	11	0	2.55

Fulton Financial currently has a consensus price target of $19.50, suggesting a potential downside of 6.52%. U.S. Bancorp has a consensus price target of $54.21, suggesting a potential upside of 12.02%. Given U.S. Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe U.S. Bancorp is more favorable than Fulton Financial.

Summary

U.S. Bancorp beats Fulton Financial on 12 of the 17 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 U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp, a financial services holding company, provides various financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional organizations, governmental entities, and other financial institutions in the United States. It operates through Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking; Consumer and Business Banking; Payment Services; and Treasury and Corporate Support segments. The company offers depository services, including checking accounts, savings accounts, and time certificate contracts; and lending services, such as traditional credit products and credit card services, lease financing and import/export trade, asset-backed lending, agricultural finance, and other products. It also provides ancillary services comprising capital markets, treasury management, and receivable lock-box collection services to corporate and governmental entity customers. In addition, the company offers asset management and fiduciary services for individuals, estates, foundations, business corporations, and charitable organizations. Further, it provides investment and insurance products to its customers principally within its domestic markets, as well as fund administration services to mutual and other funds. Additionally, the company provides corporate and purchasing card, and corporate trust services. Furthermore, it offers trust and investment management, merchant and ATM processing, mortgage banking, insurance, and brokerage and leasing services. U.S. Bancorp was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.