Comparing Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ (OTCMKTS:SVNLY) & Intesa Sanpaolo (OTCMKTS:ISNPY)

Intesa Sanpaolo (OTCMKTS:ISNPY) and Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ (OTCMKTS:SVNLY) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Intesa Sanpaolo and Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Intesa Sanpaolo	0	4	2	1	2.57
Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ	2	5	0	0	1.71

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Intesa Sanpaolo and Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Intesa Sanpaolo	$48.17 billion	2.51	$9.38 billion	$3.36	12.39
Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ	$17.44 billion	N/A	$2.60 billion	$0.61	11.66

Intesa Sanpaolo has higher revenue and earnings than Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ. Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Intesa Sanpaolo, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

1.2% of Intesa Sanpaolo shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Intesa Sanpaolo pays an annual dividend of $1.87 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.4%. Intesa Sanpaolo pays out 55.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ pays out 98.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Profitability

This table compares Intesa Sanpaolo and Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Intesa Sanpaolo	22.67%	13.57%	0.97%
Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ	15.97%	12.80%	0.68%

Volatility & Risk

Intesa Sanpaolo has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Intesa Sanpaolo beats Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Intesa Sanpaolo

Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. provides various financial products and services primarily in Italy. It operates through six segments: Banca dei Territori, IMI Corporate & Investment Banking, International Subsidiary Banks, Asset Management, Private Banking, and Insurance. The company offers lending and deposit products; private and commercial banking, corporate and transaction banking, structured finance, investment banking, public finance, and capital markets; industrial credit, leasing, and factoring; asset management; life and non-life insurance and pension products; asset and wealth management; private investments; and bancassurance products. The company serves individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, non-profit customers, corporates and financial institutions, public administration, private clients and high net worth individuals, institutional clientele, and other customers. Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Turin, Italy.

About Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ

Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ) provides various banking products and services for private and corporate customers primarily in Sweden, the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, the United States, Luxembourg, Finland, and Poland. The company offers savings, transactions, business, currency, and investment accounts, as well as accounts for cash pool, and forestry and agriculture; mortgage and committed loans, and private loans; mutual funds; pension products; credit and debit cards; and payment and reconciliation services, as well as foreign exchange rate services. It also provides financing for investments, such as equipment, cars, computers, and other inventories, as well as vehicle and real estate financing services; green loans and advisor services; investment and other financing services; medical care, and group and health insurance products; forestry and farming banking products; and online and mobile banking services, as well as various banking services for children and young people. In addition, the company offers financial services, that includes asset management, transactional banking, corporate finance, financing, markets, trade finance, market information and research services to large corporations; cash management solutions; and various corporate banking services to small and medium-sized companies and large corporates, as well as private banking services. Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ) was incorporated in 1871 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.