Analyzing KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB) and DNB Bank ASA (OTCMKTS:DNBBY)

KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB) and DNB Bank ASA (OTCMKTS:DNBBY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

11.5% of KB Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 69.0% of KB Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

KB Financial Group has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DNB Bank ASA has a beta of 1.26, meaning that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

KB Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $3.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.1%. DNB Bank ASA pays an annual dividend of $0.97 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. KB Financial Group pays out 42.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. DNB Bank ASA pays out 41.3% 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for KB Financial Group and DNB Bank ASA, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KB Financial Group	0	0	0	0	N/A
DNB Bank ASA	0	0	0	0	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares KB Financial Group and DNB Bank ASA’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KB Financial Group	$26.44 billion	0.71	$3.71 billion	$8.82	5.24
DNB Bank ASA	$17.13 billion	N/A	$3.62 billion	$2.35	8.21

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

Profitability

This table compares KB Financial Group and DNB Bank ASA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KB Financial Group	12.94%	7.72%	0.63%
DNB Bank ASA	21.11%	14.54%	1.06%

About KB Financial Group

KB Financial Group Inc. provides a range of banking and related financial services to consumers and corporations in South Korea, the United States, New Zealand, China, Cambodia, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and internationally. The company operates through Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Other Banking Services, Credit Card, Securities, Life Insurance, and Non-Life Insurance segments. It offers loans, deposit products, and other related financial products and services to large, small, medium-sized enterprises, and small office/home office, as well as individuals and households; investment banking, and brokerage and supporting services; life insurance products; non-life insurance products, including fire, maritime, injury, technology, liability, package, title, guarantee, other special type insurances, automobile, long-term nonlife, property damage, injury, driver, savings, illness, nursing, pension, and others; and credit sale, cash service, card loan, and other supporting services. The company also engages in securities and derivatives trading, funding, and other supporting activities. In addition, it offers foreign exchange transaction; financial investment; credit card and installment financing; financial leasing; auto Installment finance; real estate trust management; capital and collective investment; collection of receivables or credit investigation; software advisory, development, and supply; microfinance; investment advisory; claim; management; savings banking; information and communication; e-commerce; and general advisory services. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

About DNB Bank ASA

DNB Bank ASA provides financial services for individual and business customers in Norway and internationally. The company offers savings, current, and pension accounts; fixed rate and security deposits; home and cabin mortgages, car and consumer loans, business loans, and refinancing; car, house, home contents, travel, personal, and non-life insurance product; payment services; and online and mobile banking services, as well as cards. It also provides overdraft facilities; leasing services; factoring, supply chain, and receivable purchase financing services; bank guarantee, secure trading, documentary collection, and letter of credit services; investment banking services, such as mergers and acquisition, equity and debt capital market, shares and securities, mutual funds and trading, and bonds and commodities; and private financing, as well as equity trading, foreign exchange, interest rates, and risk advisory services. In addition, the company offers treasury management, working capital, trade finance, auto lease and equipment financing, and corporate finance services, as well as act as an estate agents. DNB Bank ASA was founded in 1822 and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.