Head-To-Head Review: Bank of East Asia (OTCMKTS:BKEAY) vs. Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) and Bank of East Asia (OTCMKTS:BKEAY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Dividends

Bank Of Montreal pays an annual dividend of $4.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Bank of East Asia pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. Bank Of Montreal pays out 57.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank Of Montreal has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Bank Of Montreal and Bank of East Asia’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank Of Montreal	11.13%	11.76%	0.64%
Bank of East Asia	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Bank Of Montreal and Bank of East Asia, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank Of Montreal	0	7	4	1	2.50
Bank of East Asia	1	0	0	0	1.00

Bank Of Montreal currently has a consensus target price of $163.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.71%. Given Bank Of Montreal’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Bank Of Montreal is more favorable than Bank of East Asia.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

45.8% of Bank Of Montreal shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Bank Of Montreal shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Bank Of Montreal has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank of East Asia has a beta of 0.09, suggesting that its share price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Bank Of Montreal and Bank of East Asia”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank Of Montreal	$55.92 billion	1.72	$6.22 billion	$8.16	16.69
Bank of East Asia	$5.67 billion	0.79	$590.75 million	N/A	N/A

Bank Of Montreal has higher revenue and earnings than Bank of East Asia.

Summary

Bank Of Montreal beats Bank of East Asia on 14 of the 16 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 Bank of East Asia

The Bank of East Asia, Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking and related financial services. Its personal banking services include corporate, individual, savings, current, time deposit, and supreme accounts; and time deposits, foreign currency deposits, MAS services, and auto-payroll products, as well as safe deposit boxes and remittance services. The company also provides corporate banking services, such as SME loans and financing guarantee schemes; corporate and commercial financing products, including syndicated and construction loans, acquisition and structured financing, working capital financing, share financing and IPO-related loans, and commercial mortgages; trade finance services and expert trade solutions; factoring services; import and export trade finance; guarantee services; eTradeConnect that allows buyers and sellers to connect, transact, share information, and submit applications for financing through a single platform; cash management services; corporate wealth management products; foreign exchange and treasury products; and marine cargo, property, trade credit, employee compensation, life, savings, and endowment insurance plans. In addition, it offers private banking services comprising investment advisory services; investment solutions, such as unit trusts, linked deposits, currency trading and management, global equities and bonds investments, structured products, and options and derivatives; portfolio management services; securities and futures broking services; cyber banking, credit cards, and ATM; and various international services. The company operates outlets in Hong Kong, rest of Greater China, Singapore, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Bank of East Asia, Limited was incorporated in 1918 and is headquartered in Central, Hong Kong.