Analyzing Credit Agricole (OTCMKTS:CRARY) and Commerzbank (OTCMKTS:CRZBY)

Commerzbank (OTCMKTS:CRZBY) and Credit Agricole (OTCMKTS:CRARY) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

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

Risk & Volatility

Commerzbank has a beta of 0.36, meaning that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Credit Agricole has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Commerzbank and Credit Agricole, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Commerzbank	0	5	2	1	2.50
Credit Agricole	0	3	1	0	2.25

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Commerzbank	11.03%	7.29%	0.45%
Credit Agricole	24.65%	37.56%	1.35%

Dividends

Commerzbank pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Credit Agricole pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Commerzbank pays out 22.9% 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Commerzbank and Credit Agricole”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Commerzbank	$25.96 billion	1.84	$2.90 billion	$2.27	18.66
Credit Agricole	$31.76 billion	2.12	$8.00 billion	$1.19	9.36

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

Summary

Credit Agricole beats Commerzbank on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Commerzbank

Commerzbank AG provides banking and capital market products and services to private and small business customers, corporate, financial service providers, and institutional clients in Germany, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Private and Small-Business Customers, and Corporate Clients. The company offers saving, checking, business, and current accounts; term deposits; pension; credit and debit cards; payment solutions; overdraft services; various loans; and insurance products. It also provides trade securities; treasury management; corporate financing; real estate financing; financing advisory; merger and acquisition; foreign trade; trade financing; asset and risk management; and online banking, as well as wealth management services. Commerzbank AG was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

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.