Reviewing Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) and Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT)

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) and Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

72.0% of Fulton Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.2% of Western Alliance Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Fulton Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Western Alliance Bancorporation shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fulton Financial	20.63%	12.68%	1.30%
Western Alliance Bancorporation	17.34%	13.50%	1.07%

Dividends

Fulton Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Western Alliance Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Fulton Financial pays out 36.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Western Alliance Bancorporation pays out 18.6% 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 Western Alliance Bancorporation has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fulton Financial	0	4	1	0	2.20
Western Alliance Bancorporation	0	4	12	0	2.75

Fulton Financial currently has a consensus price target of $24.75, suggesting a potential upside of 9.85%. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus price target of $92.59, suggesting a potential upside of 22.68%. Given Western Alliance Bancorporation’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Western Alliance Bancorporation is more favorable than Fulton Financial.

Risk and Volatility

Fulton Financial has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a beta of 1.42, indicating that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Fulton Financial and Western Alliance Bancorporation”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fulton Financial	$1.89 billion	2.27	$391.61 million	$2.09	10.78
Western Alliance Bancorporation	$3.87 billion	2.13	$969.00 million	$9.05	8.34

Western Alliance Bancorporation has higher revenue and earnings than Fulton Financial. Western Alliance Bancorporation 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

Western Alliance Bancorporation 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 Western Alliance Bancorporation

Western Alliance Bancorporation operates as the bank holding company for Western Alliance Bank that provides various banking products and related services primarily in Arizona, California, and Nevada. It operates through Commercial and Consumer Related segments. The company offers deposit products, including checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as fixed-rate and fixed maturity certificates of deposit accounts; demand deposits; and treasury management and residential mortgage products and services. It also provides commercial and industrial loan products, such as working capital lines of credit, loans to technology companies, inventory and accounts receivable lines, mortgage warehouse lines, equipment loans and leases, and other commercial loans; commercial real estate loans, which are secured by multi-family residential properties, professional offices, industrial facilities, retail centers, hotels, and other commercial properties; construction and land development loans for single family and multi-family residential projects, industrial/warehouse properties, office buildings, retail centers, medical office facilities, and residential lot developments; and consumer loans. In addition, the company provides other financial services, such as internet banking, wire transfers, electronic bill payment and presentment, funds transfer and other digital payment offerings, lock box services, courier, and cash management services. Further, the company holds certain investment securities, municipal and non-profit loans, and leases; invests primarily in low-income housing tax credits and small business investment corporations; and holds certain real estate loans and related securities. Western Alliance Bancorporation was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.