Reviewing SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) and Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores (NYSE:AVAL)

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) and Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores (NYSE:AVAL) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

SEI Investments has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares SEI Investments and Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SEI Investments	$2.13 billion	4.79	$581.19 million	$5.44	15.30
Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores	$9.07 billion	0.53	$203.02 million	$0.33	12.23

SEI Investments has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SEI Investments, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares SEI Investments and Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SEI Investments	31.09%	30.21%	26.06%
Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores	4.61%	5.95%	0.60%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

70.6% of SEI Investments shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.2% of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.3% of SEI Investments shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for SEI Investments and Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SEI Investments	0	3	5	0	2.63
Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores	0	1	1	0	2.50

SEI Investments presently has a consensus target price of $105.20, suggesting a potential upside of 26.43%. Given SEI Investments’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe SEI Investments is more favorable than Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores.

Dividends

SEI Investments pays an annual dividend of $0.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. SEI Investments pays out 18.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores pays out 36.4% 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. SEI Investments has increased its dividend for 34 consecutive years.

Summary

SEI Investments beats Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SEI Investments

SEI Investments Company is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides wealth management, retirement and investment solutions, asset management, asset administration, investment processing outsourcing solutions, financial services, and investment advisory services to its clients. It provides its services to private banks, independent financial advisers, institutional investors, investment managers, investment advisors, wealth management organizations, corporations, retirement scheme sponsors, not-for-profit organizations, hedge fund managers, registered investment advisers, independent broker-dealers, financial planners, life insurance agents, defined-benefit schemes, defined-contribution schemes, endowments, foundations, and board-designated fund, through its subsidiaries. Through its subsidiaries, the firm manages separate client-focused portfolios. It also launches and manages equity, fixed income, and balanced mutual funds, through its subsidiaries. Through its subsidiaries, the firm invests in public equity and fixed income markets. It employs fundamental and quantitative analysis with a focus on top-down and bottom-up analysis to make its investments, through its subsidiaries. SEI Investments Company was founded in 1968 and is based in Oaks, Pennsylvania.

About Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. provides a range of financial services and products to public and private sector customers in Colombia and Central America. It offers traditional deposit services and products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, time deposits, and other deposits. The company also provides commercial loans comprising general purpose loans, working capital loans, leases, loans funded by development banks, corporate credit cards, and overdraft loans; consumer loans, such as payroll loans, personal loans, automobile and other vehicle loans, credit cards, overdrafts, leases, and general purpose loans; and microcredit and mortgage loans. In addition, the company offers pension and severance fund management services; investment banking, including services relating to capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and project finance transactions; mobile and online banking services; and bancassurance, insurance, trust, bonded warehousing and brokerage transactions, real estate escrow services, merchandise and document storage and deposit, customs agency, cargo management, surety bond and merchandise distribution services, and payment and collection services. Further, it is involved in equity investments in various sectors, including infrastructure, energy and gas, agribusiness, and hospitality; and treasury operations. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Bogotá, Colombia. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A.