Eagle Bancorp (NASDAQ:EGBN) vs. Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Critical Analysis

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eagle Bancorp	-18.65%	-10.03%	-1.10%
Fulton Financial	20.85%	12.69%	1.28%

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eagle Bancorp	$634.26 million	1.26	-$138.05 million	($3.79)	-6.91
Fulton Financial	$1.89 billion	2.16	$391.61 million	$2.10	10.21

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

Risk & Volatility

Eagle Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fulton Financial has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Eagle Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Fulton Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Eagle Bancorp pays out -1.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fulton Financial pays out 36.2% 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. Fulton Financial has raised 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Eagle Bancorp and Fulton Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eagle Bancorp	1	2	1	1	2.40
Fulton Financial	0	5	2	0	2.29

Eagle Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $27.50, indicating a potential upside of 5.00%. Fulton Financial has a consensus price target of $23.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.28%. Given Fulton Financial’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Fulton Financial is more favorable than Eagle Bancorp.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.0% of Eagle Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.0% of Fulton Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 3.4% of Eagle Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Fulton Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Fulton Financial beats Eagle Bancorp on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eagle Bancorp

Eagle Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for EagleBank that provides commercial and consumer banking services primarily in the United States. The company also offers various commercial and consumer lending products comprising commercial loans for working capital, equipment purchases, real estate lines of credit, and government contract financing; asset based lending and accounts receivable financing; construction and commercial real estate loans; business equipment financing; consumer home equity lines of credit, personal lines of credit, and term loans; consumer installment loans, such as auto and personal loans; personal credit cards; and residential mortgage loans. In addition, it provides online and mobile banking services; checking and saving accounts; and other deposit services, including cash management services, business sweep accounts, lock boxes, remote deposit captures, account reconciliation services, merchant card services, safety deposit boxes, and automated clearing house origination, as well as after-hours depositories and ATM services. Further, the company offers insurance products and services through a referral program; and treasury management services. The company serves sole proprietors, small and medium-sized businesses, partnerships, corporations, and non-profit organizations and associations, as well as investors. Eagle Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.

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.