Reviewing Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) and Nordea Bank (OTCMKTS:NRDBY)

Nordea Bank (OTCMKTS:NRDBY) and Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Nordea Bank and Mizuho Financial Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nordea Bank	1	0	3	2	3.00
Mizuho Financial Group	0	1	1	0	2.50

Risk & Volatility

Nordea Bank has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mizuho Financial Group has a beta of 0.34, meaning that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Nordea Bank and Mizuho Financial Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nordea Bank	$26.50 billion	2.20	$5.47 billion	$1.52	11.10
Mizuho Financial Group	$3,610.35 billion	0.02	$3.92 billion	$0.48	13.91

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

Profitability

This table compares Nordea Bank and Mizuho Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nordea Bank	21.42%	15.38%	0.75%
Mizuho Financial Group	10.16%	8.48%	0.32%

Dividends

Nordea Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Mizuho Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.15 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Nordea Bank pays out 30.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mizuho Financial Group pays out 31.3% 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. Nordea Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Nordea Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.3% of Mizuho Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Mizuho Financial Group 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.

Summary

Nordea Bank beats Mizuho Financial Group on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nordea Bank

Nordea Bank Abp offers banking products and services in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and internationally. It operates through Personal Banking, Business Banking, Large Corporates & Institutions, and Asset & Wealth Management segments. The Personal Banking segment provides various financial services to customers through mobile banking, over the phone, online meetings, and branch offices. The Business Banking segment offers payments, cash management, cards, working capital management, and cards and finance solutions to corporate and personal customers. The Large Corporates & Institutions segment provides financing, cash management and payment, investment banking, capital market products, and securities services to corporate and institutional customers. The Asset & Wealth Management segment offers investment, savings, and risk management solutions to high net worth individuals and institutional investors. It also offers account-based products, such as lending and deposit; project finance services, asset-based financing through leasing, hire purchase, and factoring, as well as sales to finance partners, such as dealers, vendors, and retailers; financial instruments or arrangement for financial instruments, including currencies, commodities, stocks, and bonds; and asset management, including investment funds, discretionary management, portfolio advice, equity trading, and pension accounts, as well as life insurance and pension products and services. Nordea Bank Abp was founded in 1820 and is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.

About Mizuho Financial Group

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in banking, trust, securities, and other businesses related to financial services in Japan, the Americas, Europe, Asia/Oceania, and internationally. It operates through Retail & Business Banking Company, Corporate & Institutional Company, Global Corporate Company, Global Markets Company, Asset Management Company, and Others segments. The company provides deposit products; syndicated, housing, and card loans; business matching services; and advisory services related to overseas expansions, and mergers and acquisitions-related services. It also offers consulting services, including asset management and asset succession; payroll services; and sells lottery tickets issued by prefectures and ordinance-designated cities. In addition, it offers fund management, underwriting of equity and bonds, risk hedging products, etc. for corporate customers; solutions based on capital management, business strategy, and financial strategy; real estate services; advisory services and solutions, such as advice on proposals on various investment products to financial institutions; and financial services that include funding support and public bonds underwriting. Further, the company offers corporate finance and transaction banking srvices; sales and trading services; investment products; pension funds; and ALM and investment services, including stable capital raising and balance sheet management, as well as management of fixed income, equity, and other securities portfolios. Additionally, the company provides online banking, cash management solutions, currency transaction, trade finance, custody, yen correspondence settlement, and research and consulting services; trust, securitization and structured finance, and stock transfers; and private banking and information technology-related services. Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.