Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT – Get Free Report) and Freedom Financial (OTCMKTS:FDVA – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
72.0% of Fulton Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Fulton Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.3% of Freedom Financial 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.
Volatility & Risk
Fulton Financial has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Freedom Financial has a beta of 0.08, suggesting that its stock price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Fulton Financial | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2.29 |
| Freedom Financial | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Fulton Financial presently has a consensus target price of $23.50, indicating a potential downside of 2.53%. Given Fulton Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Fulton Financial is more favorable than Freedom Financial.
Profitability
This table compares Fulton Financial and Freedom Financial’s 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% |
| Freedom Financial | -0.78% | -0.57% | -0.05% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Fulton Financial and Freedom Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Fulton Financial | $1.33 billion | 3.47 | $391.61 million | $2.10 | 11.48 |
| Freedom Financial | $63.61 million | 1.36 | $380,000.00 | ($0.07) | -173.57 |
Fulton Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Freedom Financial. Freedom Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fulton Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Fulton Financial beats Freedom Financial on 13 of the 14 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 Freedom Financial
Freedom Financial Holdings, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for The Freedom Bank of Virginia that provides commercial banking, personal banking, and mortgage banking solutions. The company offers personal and business checking accounts, interest bearing business savings accounts, money market accounts, personal savings accounts, certificates of deposits, and IRAs, as well as insured cash sweep and certificate of deposit account registry services. It also provides business term, personal, and mortgage loans; commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate mortgage and small business lending services; home equity lines; and credit cards. In addition, the company offers treasury management, online and mobile banking, remote deposit capture, ACH, and wire transfer services; business valuation, bank-at-work, and merchant services; and prestige banking services. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.
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