Head-To-Head Review: Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) versus Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF)

Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) and Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

68.4% of Brookfield Asset Management shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.0% of Stifel Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.0% of Brookfield Asset Management shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Stifel 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 for Brookfield Asset Management and Stifel Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brookfield Asset Management	1	7	7	1	2.50
Stifel Financial	1	3	5	0	2.44

Brookfield Asset Management currently has a consensus price target of $57.03, suggesting a potential upside of 17.48%. Stifel Financial has a consensus price target of $85.71, suggesting a potential upside of 25.48%. Given Stifel Financial’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Stifel Financial is more favorable than Brookfield Asset Management.

Dividends

Brookfield Asset Management pays an annual dividend of $2.01 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Stifel Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Brookfield Asset Management pays out 116.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Stifel Financial pays out 23.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Brookfield Asset Management has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Stifel Financial has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years.

Volatility & Risk

Brookfield Asset Management has a beta of 1.31, indicating that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stifel Financial has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Brookfield Asset Management and Stifel Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brookfield Asset Management	$4.82 billion	16.51	$2.48 billion	$1.72	28.22
Stifel Financial	$5.53 billion	1.87	$683.78 million	$5.76	11.86

Brookfield Asset Management has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Stifel Financial. Stifel Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Brookfield Asset Management, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Brookfield Asset Management and Stifel Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brookfield Asset Management	48.89%	31.50%	15.75%
Stifel Financial	16.50%	19.38%	2.39%

Summary

Brookfield Asset Management beats Stifel Financial on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brookfield Asset Management

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. is a real estate investment firm specializing in alternative asset management services. Its renewable power and transition business includes the operates in the hydroelectric, wind, solar, distributed generation, and sustainable solution sector. The company's infrastructure business engages in the utilities, transport, midstream, and data infrastructure sectors. In addition, its private equity business offers industrial, infrastructure, and business services sectors; and real estate business, which includes housing, logistics, hospitality, science and innovation, office, and retail sectors. Further, it provides credit business; and insurance solution in the reinsurance, annuities, operating platform, and investment solutions sectors. Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. was incorporated in 2022 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Stifel Financial

Stifel Financial Corp., a financial services and bank holding company, provides retail and institutional wealth management, and investment banking services to individual investors, corporations, municipalities, and institutions in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Global Wealth Management, Institutional Group, and Other. The company provides private client services, including securities transaction and financial planning services; institutional equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, and municipal finance services; investment banking services, such as mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, and private placements; and retail and commercial banking services comprising personal and commercial lending programs, as well as deposit accounts. It participates in and manages underwritings for corporate and public finance; and offers financial advisory and securities brokerage services. The company was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.