Analyzing Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) & Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB)

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) and Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Banco Santander Chile and Western New England Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banco Santander Chile	23.00%	21.48%	1.47%
Western New England Bancorp	8.83%	4.63%	0.42%

Dividends

Banco Santander Chile pays an annual dividend of $0.99 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Western New England Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Banco Santander Chile pays out 43.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Western New England Bancorp pays out 52.8% 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. Banco Santander Chile is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

6.4% of Banco Santander Chile shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.9% of Western New England Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of Western New England Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Banco Santander Chile and Western New England Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banco Santander Chile	$4.72 billion	2.35	$938.26 million	$2.29	10.29
Western New England Bancorp	$72.99 million	2.75	$11.67 million	$0.53	18.30

Banco Santander Chile has higher revenue and earnings than Western New England Bancorp. Banco Santander Chile is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Western New England Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Banco Santander Chile has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western New England Bancorp has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Banco Santander Chile and Western New England Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banco Santander Chile	1	3	0	0	1.75
Western New England Bancorp	0	2	0	1	2.67

Banco Santander Chile currently has a consensus target price of $23.00, suggesting a potential downside of 2.38%. Western New England Bancorp has a consensus target price of $8.50, suggesting a potential downside of 12.37%. Given Banco Santander Chile’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Banco Santander Chile is more favorable than Western New England Bancorp.

Summary

Banco Santander Chile beats Western New England Bancorp on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Banco Santander Chile

Banco Santander-Chile, together with its subsidiaries, provides commercial and retail banking services in Chile. It operates through Retail Banking, Middle-Market, Corporate Investment Banking, and Corporate Activities segments. The company offers debit and credit cards, checking accounts, and savings products; consumer, automobile, commercial, mortgage, and government-guaranteed loans; and Chilean peso and foreign currency-denominated loans to finance various commercial transactions, trade, foreign currency forward contracts, and credit lines, as well as mortgage financing services. It also provides mutual fund management, insurance and securities brokerage, foreign exchange services, financial leasing, financial consulting and advisory, investment management, foreign trade, leasing, factoring, treasury, and transactional services, as well as specialized services to finance residential projects. In addition, the company offers short-term financing and fundraising, and brokerage services, as well as derivatives, securitization, and other products; and manages capital allocations. It serves individuals, small to middle-sized entities, companies, and large corporations, as well as universities, government entities, and local and regional governments. The company was incorporated in 1977 and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile. Banco Santander-Chile operates as a subsidiary of Banco Santander, S.A.

About Western New England Bancorp

Western New England Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Westfield Bank that provides a range of commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals and businesses. The company accepts various deposit accounts, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking, commercial checking, business, nonprofit and municipal checking, savings, money market and sweep, individual retirement, and other savings accounts; time deposits; certificates of deposit; and interest on lawyer's trust accounts. It also offers residential real estate loans, including first mortgages, home equity loans, and home equity lines, and secured by one-to-four family residential properties; commercial and industrial loans, such as letters of credit, revolving lines of credit, working capital, equipment financing, and term loans; commercial mortgage loans; construction and land development loans; home equity loans comprising home equity revolving loans and lines of credit; and consumer loans, including automobile, spa and pool, collateral, and personal lines of credit. In addition, the company provides automated teller machine (ATM), telephone and online banking, remote deposit capture, cash management, overdraft and safe deposit facility, and night deposit services. The company was formerly known as Westfield Financial, Inc. and changed its name to Western New England Bancorp, Inc. in October 2016. The company was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in Westfield, Massachusetts.