Head-To-Head Comparison: Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) vs. Swedbank (OTCMKTS:SWDBY)

Swedbank (OTCMKTS:SWDBY) and Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Swedbank and Banco Bradesco, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Swedbank	2	3	0	0	1.60
Banco Bradesco	1	1	3	0	2.40

Banco Bradesco has a consensus price target of $2.40, suggesting a potential downside of 27.27%. Given Banco Bradesco’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Banco Bradesco is more favorable than Swedbank.

Profitability

This table compares Swedbank and Banco Bradesco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Swedbank	25.22%	16.12%	1.09%
Banco Bradesco	9.76%	12.96%	1.07%

Dividends

Swedbank pays an annual dividend of SEK 2.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.7%. Banco Bradesco pays an annual dividend of $0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Swedbank pays out 69.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Banco Bradesco pays out 8.6% 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Swedbank and Banco Bradesco”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Swedbank	$17.47 billion	1.94	$3.30 billion	SEK 2.90	10.36
Banco Bradesco	$37.55 billion	0.94	$3.20 billion	$0.35	9.43

Swedbank has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Banco Bradesco. Banco Bradesco is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Swedbank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Swedbank has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banco Bradesco has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Swedbank beats Banco Bradesco on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Swedbank

Swedbank AB (publ) provides various banking products and services to private and corporate customers in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the United States, Finland, Denmark, Luxembourg, and China. The company operates through three business areas: Swedish Banking, Baltic Banking, and Corporates and Institutions. It offers savings accounts, mutual funds and insurance savings, pension savings, institutional asset management, and other savings and investment products; private residential lending, consumer financing, corporate lending, leasing, and other financing products, as well as trade finance and factoring services; and current accounts, cash handling, debit and credit cards, and card acquiring, as well as domestic, international, mobile, document, and other payment products. The company also provides equity trading, structured products, corporate finance, custody services, fixed income and currency trading, and other capital market products; and administrative services, treasury operations, real estate brokerage and management services, legal services, safe deposit boxes, and other services. In addition, it offers pension insurance and plan, life, endowment insurance, and personal insurance products; investment management, investment banking, and mortgage lending services; and transaction banking services comprising cash management, securities, account, and clearing and settlement services, as well as Internet and mobile banking services. The company was formerly known as ForeningsSparbanken AB and changed its name to Swedbank AB (publ) in September 2006. Swedbank AB (publ) was founded in 1820 and is headquartered in Sundbyberg, Sweden.

About Banco Bradesco

Banco Bradesco S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to individuals, corporates, and businesses in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Banking and Insurance. It provides current, savings, click, and salary accounts; real estate credit, vehicle financing, payroll loans, mortgage loans, microcredit, leasing, and personal and installment credit; overdraft and agribusiness loans; debit and business cards; financial and security services; consortium products; car, personal accident, dental, travel, and life insurance; investment products; pension products; foreign currency exchange services; capitalization bonds; and internet banking services. Banco Bradesco S.A. was founded in 1943 and is headquartered in Osasco, Brazil.