Bank of China (OTCMKTS:BACHY) vs. FirstRand (OTCMKTS:FANDF) Head to Head Comparison

Bank of China (OTCMKTS:BACHY) and FirstRand (OTCMKTS:FANDF) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Bank of China and FirstRand’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank of China	$154.67 billion	0.67	$33.80 billion	$2.59	3.42
FirstRand	N/A	N/A	N/A	$2.94	1.10

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

Profitability

This table compares Bank of China and FirstRand’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of China	20.59%	8.68%	0.76%
FirstRand	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Bank of China and FirstRand, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of China	0	0	1	0	3.00
FirstRand	0	1	0	0	2.00

Dividends

Bank of China pays an annual dividend of $0.67 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.6%. FirstRand pays an annual dividend of $1.17 per share and has a dividend yield of 36.0%. Bank of China pays out 25.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. FirstRand pays out 39.7% 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.

Summary

Bank of China beats FirstRand on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank of China

Bank of China Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking and financial services in Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and internationally. It operates through Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, Treasury Operations, Investment Banking, Insurance, and Other segments. The Corporate Banking segment provides current accounts, deposits, overdrafts, loans, payments and settlements, trade-related products, and other credit facilities, as well as foreign currency, derivative, and wealth management products for corporate customers, government authorities, and financial institutions. The Personal Banking segment offers savings deposits, personal loans, credit cards and debit cards, payments and settlements, wealth management, and funds and insurance agency services to retail customers. The Treasury Operations segment offers foreign exchange transactions, customer-based interest rate, and foreign exchange derivative transactions, as well as money market transactions, proprietary trading, and asset and liability management. The Investment Banking segment provides debt and equity underwriting and financial advisory, sale and trading of securities, stock brokerage, investment research, asset management services, and private equity investment services. The Insurance segment provides underwriting services for general and life insurance business, and insurance agency services. In addition, the company operates debt-to-equity swaps and other supporting, and aircraft and financial leasing business. The company was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

About FirstRand

FirstRand Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides transactional, lending, investment, and insurance products and services in South Africa, rest of Africa, the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, the United States, and Australia. The company offers deposit and savings products; personal loans; and asset and invoice finance, as well as SME commercial, residential, and buy-to-let mortgages. It also provides life and short-term insurance products; and vehicle finance, instalment credit and fleet management, and corporate and investment banking services. In addition, the company offers asset management, as well as vehicle-related insurance services. It serves retail and public sector customers, SMEs, business, agricultural, and medium corporates. The company was incorporated in 1966 and is based in Sandton, South Africa.