Analyzing Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTCMKTS:CMWAY) and Standard Chartered (OTCMKTS:SCBFF)

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTCMKTS:CMWAY) and Standard Chartered (OTCMKTS:SCBFF) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.0% of Commonwealth Bank of Australia shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Commonwealth Bank of Australia has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Standard Chartered has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Standard Chartered, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Commonwealth Bank of Australia	1	1	0	0	1.50
Standard Chartered	0	2	3	0	2.60

Commonwealth Bank of Australia presently has a consensus target price of $130.18, suggesting a potential upside of 1.20%. Given Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Commonwealth Bank of Australia is more favorable than Standard Chartered.

Dividends

Commonwealth Bank of Australia pays an annual dividend of $3.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Standard Chartered pays an annual dividend of $0.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Standard Chartered pays out 52.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Standard Chartered”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Commonwealth Bank of Australia	$61.51 billion	3.50	$6.55 billion	N/A	N/A
Standard Chartered	$39.53 billion	1.40	$5.09 billion	$1.88	12.94

Commonwealth Bank of Australia has higher revenue and earnings than Standard Chartered.

Profitability

This table compares Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Standard Chartered’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Commonwealth Bank of Australia	N/A	N/A	N/A
Standard Chartered	12.86%	10.77%	0.64%

Summary

Commonwealth Bank of Australia beats Standard Chartered on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Commonwealth Bank of Australia provides financial services in Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. It operates through Retail Banking Services, Business Banking, Institutional Banking and Markets, and New Zealand segments. The company offers transaction, savings, and foreign currency accounts; term deposits; personal and business loans; overdrafts; equipment finance; credit cards; international payment and trade; and private banking services, as well as home and car loans. It also provides institutional banking services; funds management, superannuation, and share broking products and services; home, car, health, life, income protection, and travel insurance products, as well as retail, premium, business, offshore services. In addition, the company offers advisory services for high-net-worth individuals; equities trading and margin lending services; debt capital, transaction banking, working capital, and risk management services; and international and foreign exchange services. Commonwealth Bank of Australia was founded in 1911 and is based in Sydney, Australia.

About Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered PLC, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. The company operates in three segments: Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking; Consumer, Private & Business Banking; and Ventures. It offers retail products, such as deposits, mortgages, credit cards, and personal loans; wealth management products and services that include investments, portfolio management, insurance, and wealth advice; and transaction banking services, such as cash management, working capital, and trade financing products. The company provides financial markets products and services that comprise project and export financing; debt capital markets and leveraged financing; financing and securities services; sales and structuring; macro, commodities, and credit trading; and market research services. In addition, it offers digital banking solutions. It serves financial institutions, governments, banks, investors, corporations, small to medium-sized businesses, and individuals. Standard Chartered PLC was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.