Agri Bank China (OTCMKTS:ACGBY) & Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) Critical Comparison

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

3.3% of Mizuho Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Mizuho Financial Group 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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mizuho Financial Group	11.57%	9.20%	0.35%
Agri Bank China	21.14%	9.25%	0.63%

Dividends

Mizuho Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.15 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Agri Bank China pays an annual dividend of $0.61 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Mizuho Financial Group pays out 27.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Agri Bank China pays out 22.6% 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. Agri Bank China is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Mizuho Financial Group and Agri Bank China, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mizuho Financial Group	0	1	0	1	3.00
Agri Bank China	0	0	0	0	0.00

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Mizuho Financial Group and Agri Bank China”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mizuho Financial Group	$59.30 billion	1.55	$3.92 billion	$0.55	13.37
Agri Bank China	$195.64 billion	1.26	$39.24 billion	$2.70	6.53

Agri Bank China has higher revenue and earnings than Mizuho Financial Group. Agri Bank China 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.

Volatility & Risk

Mizuho Financial Group has a beta of 0.35, suggesting that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Agri Bank China has a beta of 0.06, suggesting that its stock price is 94% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Agri Bank China beats Mizuho Financial Group on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Agri Bank China

Agricultural Bank of China Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking products and services. The company operates through Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, and Treasury Operations segments. It offers demand, personal call, foreign currency call, time or demand optional, foreign exchange call, foreign exchange time, savings, agreed term, and negotiated deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; and loans, including housing, consumer, business, fixed asset, working capital, real estate, and entrusted syndicated loans, as well as trade finances, guarantees and commitments, and loans with custody of export rebates accounts. The company provides credit card, debit card, payment and settlement, private banking, cash management, investment banking, custody, financial market, and financial institution services, as well as trading and wealth management services; and personal fund collection and automatic transfer services. In addition, it offers agro-related personal and corporate banking products and services; telephone, mobile, self-service, television, and SMS banking services; financial leasing services; fund management services; asset custodian services; and insurance and reinsurance related products and services. The company operates domestic branches, including specialized institutions, training institutes, tier-1 branches, tier-2 branches, tier-1 sub-branches, foundation-level branch outlets and other establishments; overseas branches in Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, New York, Dubai International Financial Centre, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Sydney, Luxemburg, Dubai, London, Macao, and Hanoi; and overseas representative offices in Vancouver, Taipei, Sao Paulo, and Dushanbe. The company was founded in 1951 and is based in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.