Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) versus Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) Financial Contrast

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) and Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Bank Of Montreal and Mizuho Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank Of Montreal	11.76%	12.16%	0.66%
Mizuho Financial Group	12.31%	9.23%	0.35%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Bank Of Montreal and Mizuho Financial Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank Of Montreal	1	7	3	1	2.33
Mizuho Financial Group	0	1	1	0	2.50

Bank Of Montreal currently has a consensus price target of $163.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.55%. Given Bank Of Montreal’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Bank Of Montreal is more favorable than Mizuho Financial Group.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

45.8% of Bank Of Montreal shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.3% of Mizuho Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Bank Of Montreal shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Mizuho Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Bank Of Montreal and Mizuho Financial Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank Of Montreal	$55.92 billion	1.88	$6.22 billion	$8.61	17.44
Mizuho Financial Group	$59.30 billion	1.85	$3.92 billion	$0.57	15.61

Bank Of Montreal has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Mizuho Financial Group. Mizuho Financial Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bank Of Montreal, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Bank Of Montreal has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mizuho Financial Group has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Bank Of Montreal pays an annual dividend of $4.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Mizuho Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.15 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Bank Of Montreal pays out 55.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mizuho Financial Group pays out 26.3% 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. Bank Of Montreal has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Bank Of Montreal is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Bank Of Montreal beats Mizuho Financial Group on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank Of Montreal

Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. It operates through Canadian P&C, U.S P&C, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital Markets segments. The company’s personal banking products and services include deposits, mortgages, home lending, consumer credit, small business lending, credit cards, cash management, financial and investment advice, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services comprise various of financing options and treasury and payment solutions, as well as risk management products. It also offers investing, banking, and wealth management advisory; digital investing services; financial solutions for individuals, families, and businesses; provides investment management services to institutional, retail, and high net worth investors; and diversified insurance, and wealth and pension de-risking solutions. In addition, the company provides individual life, critical illness and annuity products, as well as segregated funds, and group creditor and travel insurance to customers; debt and equity capital-raising, loan origination and syndication, balance sheet management, treasury management, mergers and acquisitions advice, restructurings and recapitalizations, trade finance, and risk mitigation services, as well as a range of banking and other operating services. Further, the company offers research and access to financial markets for institutional, corporate and retail clients through an integrated suite of sales and trading solutions related to debt, foreign exchange, interest rates, credit, equities, securitization, and commodities; provides new product development and origination services, as well as risk management and advisory services for hedging strategies, including in interest rates, foreign exchange rates and commodities prices; and funding and liquidity management services. The company was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

About Mizuho Financial Group

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in banking, trust, securities, and other businesses related to financial services in Japan, the Americas, Europe, Asia/Oceania, and internationally. It operates through Retail & Business Banking Company, Corporate & Institutional Company, Global Corporate Company, Global Markets Company, Asset Management Company, and Others segments. The company provides deposit products; syndicated, housing, and card loans; business matching services; and advisory services related to overseas expansions, and mergers and acquisitions-related services. It also offers consulting services, including asset management and asset succession; payroll services; and sells lottery tickets issued by prefectures and ordinance-designated cities. In addition, it offers fund management, underwriting of equity and bonds, risk hedging products, etc. for corporate customers; solutions based on capital management, business strategy, and financial strategy; real estate services; advisory services and solutions, such as advice on proposals on various investment products to financial institutions; and financial services that include funding support and public bonds underwriting. Further, the company offers corporate finance and transaction banking srvices; sales and trading services; investment products; pension funds; and ALM and investment services, including stable capital raising and balance sheet management, as well as management of fixed income, equity, and other securities portfolios. Additionally, the company provides online banking, cash management solutions, currency transaction, trade finance, custody, yen correspondence settlement, and research and consulting services; trust, securitization and structured finance, and stock transfers; and private banking and information technology-related services. Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.