Credit Agricole (OTCMKTS:CRARY) vs. Shinhan Financial Group (NYSE:SHG) Critical Comparison

Shinhan Financial Group (NYSE:SHG) and Credit Agricole (OTCMKTS:CRARY) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

7.8% of Shinhan Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.6% of Credit Agricole shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Shinhan Financial Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Shinhan Financial Group and Credit Agricole”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shinhan Financial Group	$16,707.18 billion	0.00	$3.12 billion	$9.98	5.27
Credit Agricole	$29.42 billion	1.89	$7.67 billion	$1.30	7.03

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Shinhan Financial Group and Credit Agricole, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shinhan Financial Group	0	1	1	0	2.50
Credit Agricole	0	1	0	0	2.00

Volatility & Risk

Shinhan Financial Group has a beta of 1, indicating that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Credit Agricole has a beta of 0.98, indicating that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Shinhan Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $1.27 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Credit Agricole pays an annual dividend of $0.39 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Shinhan Financial Group pays out 12.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Credit Agricole pays out 30.0% 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.

Profitability

This table compares Shinhan Financial Group and Credit Agricole’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shinhan Financial Group	21.21%	12.27%	0.98%
Credit Agricole	26.77%	27.20%	0.98%

Summary

Shinhan Financial Group beats Credit Agricole on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Shinhan Financial Group

Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. provides financial products and services in South Korea and internationally. The company operates through six segments: Banking, Credit Card, Securities, Insurance, Credit, and Others. It offers retail banking services, including demand, savings, and fixed deposit-taking; checking accounts; mortgage and home equity, and retail lending; electronic banking and automatic teller machines (ATM); and bill paying, payroll and check-cashing, currency exchange, and wire fund transfer services. The company also provides corporate banking services, such as investment banking, real estate financing, overseas real estate and development project financing, infrastructure and structured financing, equity/venture investments, mergers and acquisitions consulting; securitization and derivatives services comprising securities and derivative products, and foreign exchange trading; business expansion financing and consulting services; and working capital loans and facilities loans. In addition, it is involved in treasury and investment activities in international capital markets consisting of foreign currency-denominated securities trading, foreign exchange trading and services, trade-related financial services, international factoring services, and foreign banking operations. Further, the company offers real estate trust, investment advisory, venture business investment, life and non-life insurance, trust account management, securities brokerage, and asset management services, as well as leasing and equipment financing, savings banking, loan collection and credit reporting, collective investment administration, private equity investment, and financial system development services. Additionally, it provides transaction history inquiries and fund transfers, opening letters of credit, trade finance, payment and collection management, sales and acquisition settlement, business-to-business settlement, sweeping, pooling, ERP interface, host-to-host banking, SWIFT SCORE, and cash and liquidity management service. Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

About Credit Agricole

Crédit Agricole S.A. provides retail, corporate, insurance, and investment banking products and services in France and internationally. It operates through French Retail Banking Regional Banks; French Retail Banking – LCL; International Retail Banking; Asset Gathering; Large Customers; and Specialised Financial Services segments. The company offers banking products and services, finance, savings, wealth management, payment, and cash flow management services; consumer finance products; savings/retirement, death and disability/creditor/group, and property and casualty insurance products; investment solutions; and banking and specialized financial services. It also provides investment banking, structured finance, international trade finance, commercial banking, capital market, and syndication services; financing solutions for property and equipment investment and renewal requirements; trade receivable financing and management solutions for corporates; asset servicing solutions for investment products, as well as various asset classes, such as execution, clearing, forex, security lending and borrowing, custody, depositary bank, fund administration, middle-office outsourcing solutions, and fund distribution support and issuer services; and online banking services. The company serves retail customers, corporates, banks and financial institutions, government agencies, and local authorities. Crédit Agricole S.A. was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Montrouge, France. Crédit Agricole S.A. operates as a subsidiary of SAS Rue La Boetie.