Contrasting SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) & Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG)

Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG) and SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and profitability.

Volatility and Risk

Affiliated Managers Group has a beta of 1.19, meaning that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SEI Investments has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Affiliated Managers Group and SEI Investments”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Affiliated Managers Group	$2.04 billion	4.30	$511.60 million	$16.79	18.57
SEI Investments	$2.13 billion	4.95	$581.19 million	$5.44	15.81

SEI Investments has higher revenue and earnings than Affiliated Managers Group. SEI Investments is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Affiliated Managers Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.3% of Affiliated Managers Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.6% of SEI Investments shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of Affiliated Managers Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 14.3% of SEI Investments shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Affiliated Managers Group pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. SEI Investments pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Affiliated Managers Group pays out 0.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SEI Investments pays out 19.1% 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. SEI Investments is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Affiliated Managers Group and SEI Investments, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Affiliated Managers Group	0	1	7	0	2.88
SEI Investments	0	2	6	0	2.75

Affiliated Managers Group presently has a consensus target price of $338.83, suggesting a potential upside of 8.68%. SEI Investments has a consensus target price of $107.80, suggesting a potential upside of 25.36%. Given SEI Investments’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SEI Investments is more favorable than Affiliated Managers Group.

Profitability

This table compares Affiliated Managers Group and SEI Investments’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Affiliated Managers Group	26.01%	16.75%	7.97%
SEI Investments	31.09%	30.21%	26.06%

Summary

SEI Investments beats Affiliated Managers Group on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Affiliated Managers Group

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc., through its affiliates, operates as an investment management company providing investment management services to mutual funds, institutional clients,retails and high net worth individuals in the United States. It provides advisory or sub-advisory services to mutual funds. These funds are distributed to retail, high net worth and institutional clients directly and through intermediaries, including independent investment advisors, retirement plan sponsors, broker-dealers, major fund marketplaces, and bank trust departments. The company also offers investment products in various investment styles in the institutional distribution channel, including small, small/mid, mid, and large capitalization value and growth equity, and emerging markets. In addition, it offers quantitative, alternative, and fixed income products, and manages assets for foundations and endowments, defined benefit, and defined contribution plans for corporations and municipalities. Affiliated Managers Group provides investment management or customized investment counseling and fiduciary services. Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. was formed in 1993 and is based in West Palm Beach, Florida with additional offices in Prides Crossing, Massachusetts; Stamford, Connecticut; London, United Kingdom; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Sydney, Australia; Hong Kong; Tokyo, Japan, Zurich, Switzerland and Delaware.

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.