Reviewing Credit Agricole (OTCMKTS:CRARY) and Chiba Bank (OTCMKTS:CHBAY)

Chiba Bank (OTCMKTS:CHBAY) and Credit Agricole (OTCMKTS:CRARY) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Chiba Bank and Credit Agricole”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chiba Bank	$2.38 billion	3.59	$490.11 million	$4.20	13.10
Credit Agricole	$31.76 billion	1.80	$8.00 billion	$1.19	7.92

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Chiba Bank and Credit Agricole, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chiba Bank	0	0	0	0	0.00
Credit Agricole	0	4	1	0	2.20

Dividends

Chiba Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Credit Agricole pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Chiba Bank pays out 26.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Credit Agricole pays out 33.6% 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.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.6% of Credit Agricole shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Chiba Bank has a beta of 0.14, suggesting that its share price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Credit Agricole has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Chiba Bank and Credit Agricole’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chiba Bank	20.92%	7.53%	0.42%
Credit Agricole	24.65%	37.56%	1.35%

Summary

Credit Agricole beats Chiba Bank on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chiba Bank

The Chiba Bank, Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides banking products and services in Japan and internationally. The company offers various deposit products, including savings, time deposits, currency deposits, investment trusts, bonds, and pensions; loans, which include mortgages, renovation loans, photovoltaic, vehicle, education, and other loan products; and insurance products, such as annuity, life, medical, student, death, and travel insurance. It also offers debit and credit cards, as well as internet banking services. In addition, the company engages in securities, investment management and advisory, software development, commissioned computation tasks, research and investigation of IT and financial technologies, leasing, operation, and management of investment funds, mergers and acquisition advisory, credit guarantee businesses, management and collection of claims businesses. Further, it provides loan guarantees and fee collection services; accounting, general administration entrustment, and temporary staff services; and is involved in outsourcing of operational business. Additionally, it rents and maintains office buildings and welfare facilities; provides research, survey, and consulting services; purchases and sells supplies and consumer goods; and engages in renewable energy generation. The company serves individuals and corporations. The Chiba Bank, Ltd. was incorporated in 1943 and is headquartered in Chiba City, Japan.

About Credit Agricole

Crédit Agricole S.A. provides retail, corporate, insurance, and investment banking products and services in France and internationally. It operates through French Retail Banking Regional Banks; French Retail Banking – LCL; International Retail Banking; Asset Gathering; Large Customers; and Specialised Financial Services segments. The company offers banking products and services, finance, savings, wealth management, payment, and cash flow management services; consumer finance products; savings/retirement, death and disability/creditor/group, and property and casualty insurance products; investment solutions; and banking and specialized financial services. It also provides investment banking, structured finance, international trade finance, commercial banking, capital market, and syndication services; financing solutions for property and equipment investment and renewal requirements; trade receivable financing and management solutions for corporates; asset servicing solutions for investment products, as well as various asset classes, such as execution, clearing, forex, security lending and borrowing, custody, depositary bank, fund administration, middle-office outsourcing solutions, and fund distribution support and issuer services; and online banking services. The company serves retail customers, corporates, banks and financial institutions, government agencies, and local authorities. Crédit Agricole S.A. was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Montrouge, France. Crédit Agricole S.A. operates as a subsidiary of SAS Rue La Boetie.