Reviewing LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) & Global Capital Partners (OTCMKTS:GCPL)

Global Capital Partners (OTCMKTS:GCPL) and LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Global Capital Partners and LPL Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Global Capital Partners	N/A	N/A	N/A
LPL Financial	5.35%	36.80%	9.48%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

95.7% of LPL Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.5% of Global Capital Partners shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of LPL Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Global Capital Partners and LPL Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Global Capital Partners	0	0	0	0	0.00
LPL Financial	0	7	9	1	2.65

LPL Financial has a consensus target price of $427.86, suggesting a potential upside of 12.31%. Given LPL Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe LPL Financial is more favorable than Global Capital Partners.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Global Capital Partners and LPL Financial”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Global Capital Partners	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
LPL Financial	$12.39 billion	2.46	$1.06 billion	$10.86	35.08

LPL Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Global Capital Partners.

Summary

LPL Financial beats Global Capital Partners on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Global Capital Partners

Global Capital Partners, Inc. engages in the provision of investment banking and securities network. It operates an investment banking and brokerage firm, and also hold interests in an online trading firm and internet-based business. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Charlotte, NC.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance. The company also provides fee-based platforms that provide access to mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, stocks, bonds, certain option strategies, unit investment trusts, and institutional money managers and no-load multi-manager variable annuities. In addition, it offers money market products; and retirement solutions for commission-and fee-based services that allow advisors to provide brokerage services, consultation, and advice to retirement plan sponsors. Further, the company provides other services comprising tools and services that enable advisors to maintain and grow their practices; trust, investment management oversight, and custodial services for estates and families, as well as insurance brokerage general agency services; and technology products, such as proposal generation, investment analytics, and portfolio modeling. The company was formerly known as LPL Investment Holdings Inc. and changed its name to LPL Financial Holdings Inc. in June 2012. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. was founded in 1989 and is based in San Diego, California.