Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG) and Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores (NYSE:AVAL) Head to Head Comparison

Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG) and Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores (NYSE:AVAL) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Dividends

Affiliated Managers Group pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Affiliated Managers Group pays out 0.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores pays out 38.9% 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.

Risk & Volatility

Affiliated Managers Group has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Affiliated Managers Group and Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Affiliated Managers Group	$2.07 billion	3.90	$716.60 million	$23.08	13.13
Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores	$6.76 billion	0.83	$344.38 million	$0.36	13.17

Affiliated Managers Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores. Affiliated Managers Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Affiliated Managers Group and Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Affiliated Managers Group	34.55%	18.45%	8.63%
Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores	5.06%	6.99%	0.70%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.3% of Affiliated Managers Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.2% of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores shares are held by institutional investors. 4.2% of Affiliated Managers Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Affiliated Managers Group and Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores, 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
Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores	0	2	0	0	2.00

Affiliated Managers Group currently has a consensus price target of $350.14, suggesting a potential upside of 15.57%. Given Affiliated Managers Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Affiliated Managers Group is more favorable than Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores.

Summary

Affiliated Managers Group beats Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores on 13 of the 16 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 Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. provides a range of financial services and products to public and private sector customers in Colombia and Central America. It offers traditional deposit services and products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, time deposits, and other deposits. The company also provides commercial loans comprising general purpose loans, working capital loans, leases, loans funded by development banks, corporate credit cards, and overdraft loans; consumer loans, such as payroll loans, personal loans, automobile and other vehicle loans, credit cards, overdrafts, leases, and general purpose loans; and microcredit and mortgage loans. In addition, the company offers pension and severance fund management services; investment banking, including services relating to capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and project finance transactions; mobile and online banking services; and bancassurance, insurance, trust, bonded warehousing and brokerage transactions, real estate escrow services, merchandise and document storage and deposit, customs agency, cargo management, surety bond and merchandise distribution services, and payment and collection services. Further, it is involved in equity investments in various sectors, including infrastructure, energy and gas, agribusiness, and hospitality; and treasury operations. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Bogotá, Colombia. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A.