Analyzing Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) & KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fulton Financial	18.31%	11.50%	1.06%
KeyCorp	8.61%	10.63%	0.64%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Fulton Financial and KeyCorp’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fulton Financial	$1.08 billion	2.25	$284.28 million	$1.61	9.31
KeyCorp	$10.40 billion	1.31	$967.00 million	$0.89	16.44

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

72.0% of Fulton Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.7% of KeyCorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Fulton Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of KeyCorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Fulton Financial and KeyCorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fulton Financial	0	4	0	0	2.00
KeyCorp	0	6	12	0	2.67

Fulton Financial presently has a consensus target price of $15.30, indicating a potential upside of 2.07%. KeyCorp has a consensus target price of $15.71, indicating a potential upside of 7.35%. Given KeyCorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe KeyCorp is more favorable than Fulton Financial.

Volatility & Risk

Fulton Financial has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, KeyCorp has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Fulton Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. KeyCorp pays an annual dividend of $0.82 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Fulton Financial pays out 42.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. KeyCorp pays out 92.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Fulton Financial has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Summary

KeyCorp beats Fulton Financial on 9 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 KeyCorp

KeyCorp operates as the holding company for KeyBank National Association that provides various retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer Bank and Commercial Bank. The company offers various deposits, investment products and services; commercial leasing, investment management, consumer finance; and personal finance and financial wellness, student loan refinancing, mortgage and home equity, lending, credit card, treasury, business advisory, wealth management, asset management, cash management, portfolio management, and trust and related services to individuals and small and medium-sized businesses. It also provides a suite of banking and capital market products, such as syndicated finance, debt and equity capital market products, commercial payments, equipment finance, commercial mortgage banking, derivatives, foreign exchange, financial advisory, and public finance, as well as commercial mortgage loans to consumer, energy, healthcare, industrial, public sector, real estate, and technology sectors for middle market clients. In addition, the company offers community development financing, securities underwriting, brokerage, and investment banking services. The company was founded in 1849 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.