Reviewing Nordea Bank (OTCMKTS:NRDBY) & Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC)

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) and Nordea Bank (OTCMKTS:NRDBY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Nicolet Bankshares and Nordea Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nicolet Bankshares	22.11%	11.27%	1.64%
Nordea Bank	22.74%	15.06%	0.69%

Risk and Volatility

Nicolet Bankshares has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nordea Bank has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Nicolet Bankshares and Nordea Bank, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nicolet Bankshares	0	3	4	1	2.75
Nordea Bank	1	3	3	0	2.29

Nicolet Bankshares presently has a consensus target price of $184.80, suggesting a potential upside of 6.73%. Given Nicolet Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Nicolet Bankshares is more favorable than Nordea Bank.

Dividends

Nicolet Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Nordea Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.35 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Nicolet Bankshares pays out 15.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Nordea Bank pays out 22.0% 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. Nicolet Bankshares has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

43.1% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Nordea Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 7.2% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Nicolet Bankshares and Nordea Bank”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nicolet Bankshares	$556.52 million	6.47	$150.69 million	$9.04	19.15
Nordea Bank	$23.46 billion	2.63	$5.48 billion	$1.59	11.38

Nordea Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Nicolet Bankshares. Nordea Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nicolet Bankshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Nicolet Bankshares beats Nordea Bank on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nicolet Bankshares

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Nicolet National Bank that provides banking products and services for businesses and individuals in Wisconsin and Michigan. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market accounts; various certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts. It also offers commercial loans, including commercial, industrial, and business loans and lines of credit; commercial real estate loans; agricultural (AG) production and AG real estate loans; commercial real estate investment real estate loans; construction and land development loans; residential real estate loans, such as residential first lien and junior lien mortgages, home equity loans, lines of credit, and residential construction loans; and consumer loans. In addition, the company provides cash management, international banking, personal brokerage, safe deposit boxes, and trust and fiduciary services, as well as wealth management and retirement plan services. Further, it offers mortgage refinancing; online services, such as commercial, retail, and trust online banking; automated bill payment, mobile banking deposits and account access, and remote deposit capture services; and other services consisting of wire transfers, debit cards, credit cards, pre-paid gift cards, direct deposits, and official bank checks, as well as facilitates crop insurance products. The company was formerly known as Green Bay Financial Corporation and changed its name to Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. in March 2002. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

About Nordea Bank

Nordea Bank Abp offers banking products and services in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and internationally. It operates through Personal Banking, Business Banking, Large Corporates & Institutions, and Asset & Wealth Management segments. The Personal Banking segment provides various financial services to customers through mobile banking, over the phone, online meetings, and branch offices. The Business Banking segment offers payments, cash management, cards, working capital management, and cards and finance solutions to corporate and personal customers. The Large Corporates & Institutions segment provides financing, cash management and payment, investment banking, capital market products, and securities services to corporate and institutional customers. The Asset & Wealth Management segment offers investment, savings, and risk management solutions to high net worth individuals and institutional investors. It also offers account-based products, such as lending and deposit; project finance services, asset-based financing through leasing, hire purchase, and factoring, as well as sales to finance partners, such as dealers, vendors, and retailers; financial instruments or arrangement for financial instruments, including currencies, commodities, stocks, and bonds; and asset management, including investment funds, discretionary management, portfolio advice, equity trading, and pension accounts, as well as life insurance and pension products and services. Nordea Bank Abp was founded in 1820 and is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.