Head-To-Head Review: AmeriServ Financial (NASDAQ:ASRV) & Bank of China (OTCMKTS:BACHY)

Bank of China (OTCMKTS:BACHY) and AmeriServ Financial (NASDAQ:ASRV) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

31.5% of AmeriServ Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.9% of AmeriServ Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Bank of China and AmeriServ Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of China	0	1	0	0	2.00
AmeriServ Financial	0	0	1	0	3.00

Risk and Volatility

Bank of China has a beta of 0.07, indicating that its stock price is 93% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AmeriServ Financial has a beta of 0.43, indicating that its stock price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Bank of China and AmeriServ Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of China	20.09%	7.81%	0.67%
AmeriServ Financial	9.51%	7.21%	0.58%

Dividends

Bank of China pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. AmeriServ Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Bank of China pays out 24.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AmeriServ Financial pays out 23.5% 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Bank of China and AmeriServ Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank of China	$169.73 billion	1.27	$33.81 billion	$2.57	6.52
AmeriServ Financial	$88.34 million	0.97	$5.61 million	$0.51	9.95

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

Summary

Bank of China beats AmeriServ Financial on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank of China

Bank of China Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking and financial services in Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and internationally. It operates through six segments: Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, Treasury Operations, Investment Banking, Insurance, and Other. The Corporate Banking segment provides current accounts, deposits, overdrafts, loans, payments and settlements, trade-related products, and other credit facilities, as well as foreign currency, derivative, and wealth management products for corporate customers, government authorities, and financial institutions. The Personal Banking segment offers savings deposits, personal loans, credit cards and debit cards, payments and settlements, wealth management, and funds and insurance agency services to retail customers. The Treasury Operations segment offers foreign exchange transactions, customer-based interest rate, and foreign exchange derivative transactions, as well as money market transactions, proprietary trading, and asset and liability management. The Investment Banking segment provides debt and equity underwriting and financial advisory, sale and trading of securities, stock brokerage, investment research, asset management services, and private equity investment services. The Insurance segment provides underwriting services for general and life insurance business, and insurance agency services. In addition, the company operates debt-to-equity swaps and other supporting, and aircraft and financial leasing business. The company was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

About AmeriServ Financial

AmeriServ Financial, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of consumer, mortgage and commercial financial products and services through its subsidiary. It operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Wealth Management, and Investment or Parent. The Community Banking segment includes both retail and commercial banking activities. The Wealth Management segment involves in the operations of a Trust Company, West Chester Capital Advisors an investment advisory firm, and Financial Services. The Investment or Parent segment offers investment securities, borrowing activities, and general corporate expenses. The company was founded in January 1983 and is headquartered in Johnstown, PA.