Financial Analysis: Sound Point Meridian Capital (NYSE:SPMC) versus Janus Henderson Group (NYSE:JHG)

Sound Point Meridian Capital (NYSE:SPMC) and Janus Henderson Group (NYSE:JHG) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.9% of Janus Henderson Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Sound Point Meridian Capital shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 21.0% of Janus Henderson Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Sound Point Meridian Capital has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Janus Henderson Group has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Sound Point Meridian Capital and Janus Henderson Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sound Point Meridian Capital	0	3	1	0	2.25
Janus Henderson Group	0	6	2	1	2.44

Sound Point Meridian Capital currently has a consensus price target of $16.10, suggesting a potential upside of 45.70%. Janus Henderson Group has a consensus price target of $48.29, suggesting a potential downside of 6.54%. Given Sound Point Meridian Capital’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Sound Point Meridian Capital is more favorable than Janus Henderson Group.

Profitability

This table compares Sound Point Meridian Capital and Janus Henderson Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sound Point Meridian Capital	N/A	N/A	N/A
Janus Henderson Group	25.83%	14.70%	9.60%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Sound Point Meridian Capital and Janus Henderson Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sound Point Meridian Capital	N/A	N/A	N/A	($3.53)	-3.13
Janus Henderson Group	$3.10 billion	2.57	$815.90 million	$5.26	9.82

Janus Henderson Group has higher revenue and earnings than Sound Point Meridian Capital. Sound Point Meridian Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Janus Henderson Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Janus Henderson Group beats Sound Point Meridian Capital on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sound Point Meridian Capital

Sound Point Meridian Capital Inc. is an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end management investment company. Its investment objective is to generate high current income, with a secondary objective to generate capital appreciation, by investing primarily in third-party collateralized loan obligation equity and mezzanine tranches. Sound Point Meridian Capital Inc. is based in NEW YORK.

About Janus Henderson Group

Janus Henderson Group plc is an asset management holding entity. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides services to institutional, retail clients, and high net worth clients. It manages separate client-focused equity and fixed income portfolios. The firm also manages equity, fixed income, and balanced mutual funds for its clients. It invests in public equity and fixed income markets, as well as invests in real estate and private equity. Janus Henderson Group plc was founded in 1934 and is based in London, United Kingdom with additional offices in Jersey, United Kingdom and Sydney, Australia.