Fulton Financial Still Floundering

It looks like the struggle for Fulton Financial (FULT) shares to find some traction is going to go on a little longer. Investors were already a little impatient with the slow progress in resolving the BSA/AML consent orders that have prevented the bank from consolidating its charters and participating in M&A, but now they also have to digest a sizable fraud-related loss and ongoing sluggishness in core lending growth.

Although the potential for better long-term results is certainly here, the shares have already been reflecting that potential for some time, and I believe the lack of execution on that potential goes a long way toward explaining why the shares have not only lagged regional bank ETFs, but peers (in terms of asset size) like Western Alliance (WAL), Chemical Financial (CHFC), Old National (ONB), United Bancshares (UBOH), and UMB (UMBF) on a year-to-date, one-year, and two-year basis.

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Fulton Financial Still Floundering