Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ (OTCMKTS:SVNLY) vs. Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Critical Contrast

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) and Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ (OTCMKTS:SVNLY) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

Barclays has a beta of 1.14, suggesting that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Barclays and Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Barclays	21.26%	8.19%	0.39%
Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ	15.97%	12.80%	0.68%

Dividends

Barclays pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.7%. Barclays pays out 14.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ pays out 98.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Barclays and Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Barclays	0	2	4	0	2.67
Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ	2	5	0	0	1.71

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Barclays and Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Barclays	$34.23 billion	2.28	$8.06 billion	$2.17	10.33
Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ	$17.44 billion	N/A	$2.60 billion	$0.61	11.25

Barclays has higher revenue and earnings than Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ. Barclays is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

3.4% of Barclays shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Barclays shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Barclays beats Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Barclays

Barclays PLC provides various financial services in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The company operates through Barclays UK and Barclays International division segments. It offers financial services, such as retail banking, credit cards, wholesale banking, investment banking, wealth management, and investment management services. In addition, the company engages in securities dealing activities. The company was formerly known as Barclays Bank Limited and changed its name to Barclays PLC in January 1985. Barclays PLC was founded in 1690 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ

Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ) provides various banking products and services for private and corporate customers primarily in Sweden, the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, the United States, Luxembourg, Finland, and Poland. The company offers savings, transactions, business, currency, and investment accounts, as well as accounts for cash pool, and forestry and agriculture; mortgage and committed loans, and private loans; mutual funds; pension products; credit and debit cards; and payment and reconciliation services, as well as foreign exchange rate services. It also provides financing for investments, such as equipment, cars, computers, and other inventories, as well as vehicle and real estate financing services; green loans and advisor services; investment and other financing services; medical care, and group and health insurance products; forestry and farming banking products; and online and mobile banking services, as well as various banking services for children and young people. In addition, the company offers financial services, that includes asset management, transactional banking, corporate finance, financing, markets, trade finance, market information and research services to large corporations; cash management solutions; and various corporate banking services to small and medium-sized companies and large corporates, as well as private banking services. Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ) was incorporated in 1871 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.