Reviewing Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) and Hingham Institution for Savings (NASDAQ:HIFS)

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) and Hingham Institution for Savings (NASDAQ:HIFS) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Lloyds Banking Group and Hingham Institution for Savings’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lloyds Banking Group	24.97%	10.94%	0.54%
Hingham Institution for Savings	25.94%	8.22%	0.88%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Lloyds Banking Group and Hingham Institution for Savings, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lloyds Banking Group	0	3	8	0	2.73
Hingham Institution for Savings	0	0	1	0	3.00

Dividends

Lloyds Banking Group pays an annual dividend of $0.17 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hingham Institution for Savings pays an annual dividend of $2.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Lloyds Banking Group pays out 39.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hingham Institution for Savings pays out 8.4% 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.

Volatility and Risk

Lloyds Banking Group has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hingham Institution for Savings has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

2.1% of Lloyds Banking Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.3% of Hingham Institution for Savings shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Lloyds Banking 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 and Earnings

This table compares Lloyds Banking Group and Hingham Institution for Savings”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lloyds Banking Group	$25.61 billion	3.27	$6.14 billion	$0.43	13.43
Hingham Institution for Savings	$236.78 million	2.75	$54.55 million	$30.02	9.97

Lloyds Banking Group has higher revenue and earnings than Hingham Institution for Savings. Hingham Institution for Savings is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lloyds Banking Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Lloyds Banking Group beats Hingham Institution for Savings on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of banking and financial services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates in three segments: Retail; Commercial Banking; and Insurance, Pensions and Investments. The Retail segment offers a range of financial service products, including current accounts, savings, mortgages, motor finance, unsecured loans, leasing solutions, and credit cards to personal customers. The Commercial Banking segment provides lending, transactional banking, working capital management, risk management, and debt financing services to small and medium-sized entities, corporates, and institutions. The Insurance, Pensions, and Investments segment offers insurance, investment, and pension management products and services. It also provides digital banking services. The company offers its products and services under the Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Scottish Widows, MBNA, Schroders Personal Wealth, Black Horse, Lex Autolease, Birmingham Midshires, LDC, AMC, Embark Group, Citra, IWeb, Cavendish Online, and Tusker brand names. Lloyds Banking Group plc was founded in 1695 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Hingham Institution for Savings

Hingham Institution for Savings provides various financial products and services to individuals and small businesses in the United States. It offers savings, checking, money market, demand, and negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company provides commercial and residential real estate, construction, home equity, commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans. In addition, it offers ATMs, debit cards, and Internet-based banking services. The company offers its services through a network of offices in Boston; Washington, D.C.; and San Francisco Bay Area. Hingham Institution for Savings was incorporated in 1834 and is headquartered in Hingham, Massachusetts.