Standard Chartered (OTCMKTS:SCBFF) versus ING Group (NYSE:ING) Critical Contrast

Standard Chartered (OTCMKTS:SCBFF) and ING Group (NYSE:ING) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

4.5% of ING Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Standard Chartered has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ING Group has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Standard Chartered pays an annual dividend of $0.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. ING Group pays an annual dividend of $1.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Standard Chartered pays out 47.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ING Group pays out 57.7% 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Standard Chartered and ING Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Standard Chartered	0	2	3	0	2.60
ING Group	0	4	4	1	2.67

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Standard Chartered and ING Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Standard Chartered	$39.53 billion	1.43	$5.09 billion	$2.05	12.16
ING Group	$26.06 billion	3.17	$9.42 billion	$2.53	11.23

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

Profitability

This table compares Standard Chartered and ING Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Standard Chartered	13.63%	11.07%	0.66%
ING Group	27.68%	12.27%	0.60%

Summary

ING Group beats Standard Chartered on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered PLC, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. The company operates in three segments: Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking; Consumer, Private & Business Banking; and Ventures. It offers retail products, such as deposits, mortgages, credit cards, and personal loans; wealth management products and services that include investments, portfolio management, insurance, and wealth advice; and transaction banking services, such as cash management, working capital, and trade financing products. The company provides financial markets products and services that comprise project and export financing; debt capital markets and leveraged financing; financing and securities services; sales and structuring; macro, commodities, and credit trading; and market research services. In addition, it offers digital banking solutions. It serves financial institutions, governments, banks, investors, corporations, small to medium-sized businesses, and individuals. Standard Chartered PLC was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About ING Group

ING Groep N.V. provides various banking products and services in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through five segments: Retail Netherlands, Retail Belgium, Retail Germany, Retail Other, and Wholesale Banking. The company accepts current and savings accounts. It also offers business lending products; SME loans; consumer lending products, such as residential mortgage loans and other consumer lending loans; and mortgages. In addition, the company provides working capital solutions; debt and equity market solutions; various loans; payments; and cash management, trade and corporate finance, and treasury services, as well as savings, investment, insurance, and digital banking services. It serves individual customers, corporate clients, and financial institutions. ING Groep N.V. was founded in 1762 and is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.