Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) and Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior (NYSE:BLX) Head-To-Head Survey

Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) and Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior (NYSE:BLX) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Mizuho Financial Group and Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mizuho Financial Group	12.31%	9.23%	0.35%
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior	27.77%	14.36%	1.79%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Mizuho Financial Group and Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mizuho Financial Group	$59.30 billion	1.85	$3.92 billion	$0.57	15.51
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior	$836.85 million	2.44	$226.88 million	$6.02	9.12

Mizuho Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mizuho Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

3.3% of Mizuho Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.5% of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Mizuho Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Mizuho Financial Group has a beta of 0.46, indicating that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Mizuho Financial Group and Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mizuho Financial Group	0	1	1	0	2.50
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior	0	0	0	1	4.00

Dividends

Mizuho Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.15 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior pays an annual dividend of $2.75 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Mizuho Financial Group pays out 26.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior pays out 45.7% 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. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior beats Mizuho Financial Group on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mizuho Financial Group

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in banking, trust, securities, and other businesses related to financial services in Japan, the Americas, Europe, Asia/Oceania, and internationally. It operates through Retail & Business Banking Company, Corporate & Institutional Company, Global Corporate Company, Global Markets Company, Asset Management Company, and Others segments. The company provides deposit products; syndicated, housing, and card loans; business matching services; and advisory services related to overseas expansions, and mergers and acquisitions-related services. It also offers consulting services, including asset management and asset succession; payroll services; and sells lottery tickets issued by prefectures and ordinance-designated cities. In addition, it offers fund management, underwriting of equity and bonds, risk hedging products, etc. for corporate customers; solutions based on capital management, business strategy, and financial strategy; real estate services; advisory services and solutions, such as advice on proposals on various investment products to financial institutions; and financial services that include funding support and public bonds underwriting. Further, the company offers corporate finance and transaction banking srvices; sales and trading services; investment products; pension funds; and ALM and investment services, including stable capital raising and balance sheet management, as well as management of fixed income, equity, and other securities portfolios. Additionally, the company provides online banking, cash management solutions, currency transaction, trade finance, custody, yen correspondence settlement, and research and consulting services; trust, securitization and structured finance, and stock transfers; and private banking and information technology-related services. Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A., a multinational bank, primarily engages in the financing of foreign trade in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company operates in two segments, Commercial and Treasury. It offers bilateral loans; structured loans including syndicated and clubbed, such as acquisition and pre-export financing, A/B loan financing, bridge loans, and liability management; and project financing. The company also provides letter of credit comprising import and export letters of credit, and credit discounting and financing, as well as usance payable at sight; stand-by services; bank guarantees, including first demand and local guarantees; import and export documentary collection; irrevocable reimbursement undertaking; and canal tolls. In addition, it offers liquidity and investment solutions, such as time deposits, DDA accounts, Yankee certificate of deposits, and EMTN private placement services, as well as supply chain finance services. The company primarily serves financial institutions, corporations, and sovereigns and state-owned entities. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A.was formerly known as Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones, S.A. and changed its name to Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. in June 2009. The company was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Panama City, the Republic of Panama.