Reviewing JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) & Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Raymond James Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
JPMorgan Chase & Co.	3	8	15	0	2.46
Raymond James Financial	0	9	3	1	2.38

JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a consensus price target of $318.70, indicating a potential upside of 5.49%. Raymond James Financial has a consensus price target of $172.20, indicating a potential upside of 5.92%. Given Raymond James Financial’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Raymond James Financial is more favorable than JPMorgan Chase & Co..

Risk & Volatility

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Raymond James Financial has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Raymond James Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$278.91 billion	2.98	$58.47 billion	$19.49	15.50
Raymond James Financial	$14.92 billion	2.17	$2.07 billion	$10.20	15.94

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has higher revenue and earnings than Raymond James Financial. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Raymond James Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Raymond James Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
JPMorgan Chase & Co.	20.52%	16.93%	1.30%
Raymond James Financial	13.56%	18.38%	2.63%

Dividends

JPMorgan Chase & Co. pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Raymond James Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. JPMorgan Chase & Co. pays out 30.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Raymond James Financial pays out 19.6% 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years and Raymond James Financial has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

71.6% of JPMorgan Chase & Co. shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.8% of Raymond James Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of JPMorgan Chase & Co. shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Raymond James Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

JPMorgan Chase & Co. beats Raymond James Financial on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of financial and investment banking services. It focuses on investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. It operates through the following segments: Consumer and Community Banking (CCB), Commercial and Investment Bank (CIB), Asset and Wealth Management (AWM), and Corporate. The CCB segment originates and services mortgage loans. The CIB segment makes markets and services clients across fixed income, foreign exchange, equities, and commodities. The AWM segment provides initial capital investments in products such as mutual funds and capital invested alongside third-party investors. The Corporate segment manages its liquidity, funding, capital, structural interest rate, and foreign exchange risks. The company was founded in 1799 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

About Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial, Inc., a financial holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the underwriting, distribution, trading, and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, RJ Bank, and Other segments. The Private Client Group segment provides securities brokerage services, including the sale of equities, mutual funds, fixed income products, and insurance products to their individual clients; and borrowing and lending of securities to and from other broker-dealers, financial institutions, and other counterparties. The Capital Markets segment offers securities brokerage, trading, and research services to institutions with a focus on sale of the United States and Canadian equities and fixed income products; and manages and participates in underwritings, merger and acquisition services, and public finance activities. The Asset Management segment engages in the operations of Eagle, the Eagle Family of Funds, Cougar, the asset management operations of Raymond James & Associates, trust services of Raymond James Trust, and other fee-based asset management programs. The RJ Bank segment provides corporate loans, SBL, tax-exempt loans, and residential loans. The Other segment engages in private equity activities, including various direct and third party private equity investments; and private equity funds. Raymond James Financial, Inc. was founded in 1962 and is based in St. Petersburg, Florida.