Contrasting Nomura (NYSE:NMR) and AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB)

Nomura (NYSE:NMR) and AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Nomura and AllianceBernstein’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nomura	8.09%	10.42%	0.63%
AllianceBernstein	6.60%	25.94%	25.92%

Volatility & Risk

Nomura has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AllianceBernstein has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Nomura pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. AllianceBernstein pays an annual dividend of $3.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.4%. Nomura pays out 27.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AllianceBernstein pays out 97.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Nomura and AllianceBernstein”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nomura	$31.61 billion	0.86	$2.39 billion	$0.86	10.74
AllianceBernstein	$4.53 billion	0.71	$299.84 million	$3.38	10.30

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

15.1% of Nomura shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.3% of AllianceBernstein shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Nomura shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of AllianceBernstein shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Nomura and AllianceBernstein, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nomura	0	0	4	1	3.20
AllianceBernstein	0	4	2	0	2.33

Nomura presently has a consensus price target of $10.20, indicating a potential upside of 10.45%. AllianceBernstein has a consensus price target of $37.88, indicating a potential upside of 8.82%. Given Nomura’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Nomura is more favorable than AllianceBernstein.

Summary

Nomura beats AllianceBernstein on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nomura

Nomura Holdings, Inc. provides various financial services to individuals, corporations, financial institutions, governments, and governmental agencies worldwide. It operates through three segments: Retail, Investment Management, and Wholesale. The Retail segment offers various financial products and investment consultation services. The Investment Management segment engages in the management of funds, investment trusts, and other investment solutions; and provision of investment advisory, custodial, and administrative services. The Wholesale segment is involved in the research, sale, trading, agency execution, and market-making of fixed income and equity-related products. This segment also engages in underwriting various securities and other financial instruments, such as various classes of shares, convertible and exchangeable securities, investment grade and high yield debts, sovereign and emerging market debts, structured securities, and other securities; arranging private placements, as well as other capital raising activities; and the provision of financial advisory services on business transactions comprising mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, capital structuring, corporate defense activities, leveraged buyouts, and risk solutions. The company was formerly known as The Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Nomura Holdings, Inc. in October 2001. Nomura Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1925 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About AllianceBernstein

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm is a related adviser The firm manages separate client focused portfolios for its clients. The firm primarily invests in common and preferred stocks, warrants and convertible securities, government and corporate fxed-income securities, commodities, currencies, real estate-related assets and infation-protected securities. The firm employs quantitative analysis along with long-term purchases, short-term purchases, trading, short sales, margin transactions, option strategies including writing covered options, uncovered options and spread strategies to make its investments. The firm obtains external research to complement its in-house research. The firm was formerly known as Alliance Capital Management Holding LP. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. was founded in 1967 and is based in Nashville,Tennessee.