VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) and Standard Chartered (OTCMKTS:SCBFF) Head to Head Review

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) and Standard Chartered (OTCMKTS:SCBFF) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for VersaBank and Standard Chartered, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
VersaBank	0	3	0	0	2.00
Standard Chartered	0	3	4	0	2.57

VersaBank presently has a consensus target price of $20.00, indicating a potential downside of 2.25%. Given VersaBank’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe VersaBank is more favorable than Standard Chartered.

Volatility and Risk

VersaBank has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Standard Chartered has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

56.9% of VersaBank shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

VersaBank pays an annual dividend of $0.07 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Standard Chartered pays an annual dividend of $0.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. VersaBank pays out 10.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Standard Chartered pays out 47.8% 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares VersaBank and Standard Chartered”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
VersaBank	$217.14 million	3.03	$20.32 million	$0.69	29.65
Standard Chartered	$39.53 billion	1.58	$5.09 billion	$2.05	13.40

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
VersaBank	9.34%	8.32%	0.75%
Standard Chartered	13.63%	11.07%	0.66%

Summary

Standard Chartered beats VersaBank on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About VersaBank

VersaBank provides various banking products and services in Canada and the United States. It offers deposit products, such as web-based chequing accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, registered retirement savings plans, and tax-free savings accounts, as well as deposit insurance products. The company also provides lending services, including point of sale financing that covers purchasing loan and lease receivables from finance companies operating in various industries; commercial banking services comprising commercial real estate, public sector/infrastructure financing, and condominium financing; and residential mortgages. In addition, it offers cybersecurity services. The company was formerly known as Pacific & Western Bank of Canada and changed its name to VersaBank in May 2016. VersaBank was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in London, 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.