Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior (BLX) & Its Competitors Financial Analysis

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior (NYSE:BLX) is one of 341 public companies in the “Financial Services” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior has a beta of 0.84, indicating that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior’s competitors have a beta of 2.50, indicating that their average stock price is 150% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

19.5% of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.2% of shares of all “Financial Services” companies are held by institutional investors. 21.9% of shares of all “Financial Services” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior and its competitors revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior	$836.85 million	$226.88 million	8.46
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior Competitors	$6.32 billion	$1.09 billion	8.52

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior pays an annual dividend of $2.75 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior pays out 45.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Financial Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 4.2% and pay out -88.3% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior	27.91%	13.96%	1.68%
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior Competitors	-409.42%	-15.09%	-6.08%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior	0	0	0	1	4.00
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior Competitors	1974	6880	11624	443	2.50

As a group, “Financial Services” companies have a potential downside of 4.03%. Given Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior’s competitors higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Summary

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior competitors beat Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

About Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A., a multinational bank, primarily engages in the financing of foreign trade in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company operates in two segments, Commercial and Treasury. It offers bilateral loans; structured loans including syndicated and clubbed, such as acquisition and pre-export financing, A/B loan financing, bridge loans, and liability management; and project financing. The company also provides letter of credit comprising import and export letters of credit, and credit discounting and financing, as well as usance payable at sight; stand-by services; bank guarantees, including first demand and local guarantees; import and export documentary collection; irrevocable reimbursement undertaking; and canal tolls. In addition, it offers liquidity and investment solutions, such as time deposits, DDA accounts, Yankee certificate of deposits, and EMTN private placement services, as well as supply chain finance services. The company primarily serves financial institutions, corporations, and sovereigns and state-owned entities. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A.was formerly known as Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones, S.A. and changed its name to Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. in June 2009. The company was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Panama City, the Republic of Panama.