Contrasting Standard Chartered (OTCMKTS:SCBFF) & Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

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

Volatility & Risk

Bank Of Montreal has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Standard Chartered has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

45.8% of Bank Of Montreal shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Bank Of Montreal shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Bank Of Montreal and Standard Chartered”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank Of Montreal	$36.10 billion	2.57	$6.22 billion	$8.16	15.95
Standard Chartered	$41.04 billion	1.32	$4.05 billion	$1.88	12.70

Bank Of Montreal has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Standard Chartered. Standard Chartered is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bank Of Montreal, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Bank Of Montreal and Standard Chartered, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank Of Montreal	0	8	3	1	2.42
Standard Chartered	0	1	2	1	3.00

Bank Of Montreal presently has a consensus price target of $163.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.24%. Given Bank Of Montreal’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Bank Of Montreal is more favorable than Standard Chartered.

Profitability

This table compares Bank Of Montreal and Standard Chartered’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank Of Montreal	11.13%	11.76%	0.64%
Standard Chartered	12.84%	10.88%	0.65%

Dividends

Bank Of Montreal pays an annual dividend of $4.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Standard Chartered pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Bank Of Montreal pays out 58.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Standard Chartered pays out 13.3% 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. Bank Of Montreal has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Bank Of Montreal is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Bank Of Montreal beats Standard Chartered on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank Of Montreal

Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. It operates through Canadian P&C, U.S P&C, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital Markets segments. The company’s personal banking products and services include deposits, mortgages, home lending, consumer credit, small business lending, credit cards, cash management, financial and investment advice, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services comprise various of financing options and treasury and payment solutions, as well as risk management products. It also offers investing, banking, and wealth management advisory; digital investing services; financial solutions for individuals, families, and businesses; provides investment management services to institutional, retail, and high net worth investors; and diversified insurance, and wealth and pension de-risking solutions. In addition, the company provides individual life, critical illness and annuity products, as well as segregated funds, and group creditor and travel insurance to customers; debt and equity capital-raising, loan origination and syndication, balance sheet management, treasury management, mergers and acquisitions advice, restructurings and recapitalizations, trade finance, and risk mitigation services, as well as a range of banking and other operating services. Further, the company offers research and access to financial markets for institutional, corporate and retail clients through an integrated suite of sales and trading solutions related to debt, foreign exchange, interest rates, credit, equities, securitization, and commodities; provides new product development and origination services, as well as risk management and advisory services for hedging strategies, including in interest rates, foreign exchange rates and commodities prices; and funding and liquidity management services. The company was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

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.