Tri Continental (NYSE:TY) vs. Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) Critical Review

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) and Tri Continental (NYSE:TY) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Raymond James Financial and Tri Continental, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Raymond James Financial	0	8	5	0	2.38
Tri Continental	0	0	0	0	0.00

Raymond James Financial presently has a consensus price target of $181.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.08%. Given Raymond James Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Raymond James Financial is more favorable than Tri Continental.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Raymond James Financial and Tri Continental”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Raymond James Financial	$15.91 billion	2.19	$2.13 billion	$11.47	15.77
Tri Continental	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Raymond James Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Tri Continental.

Volatility & Risk

Raymond James Financial has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tri Continental has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Raymond James Financial and Tri Continental’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Raymond James Financial	13.57%	19.07%	2.64%
Tri Continental	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.8% of Raymond James Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.2% of Tri Continental shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Raymond James Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.7% of Tri Continental shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Raymond James Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Tri Continental pays an annual dividend of $1.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Raymond James Financial pays out 18.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Raymond James Financial has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Summary

Raymond James Financial beats Tri Continental on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial, Inc., a financial holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the underwriting, distribution, trading, and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, RJ Bank, and Other segments. The Private Client Group segment provides securities brokerage services, including the sale of equities, mutual funds, fixed income products, and insurance products to their individual clients; and borrowing and lending of securities to and from other broker-dealers, financial institutions, and other counterparties. The Capital Markets segment offers securities brokerage, trading, and research services to institutions with a focus on sale of the United States and Canadian equities and fixed income products; and manages and participates in underwritings, merger and acquisition services, and public finance activities. The Asset Management segment engages in the operations of Eagle, the Eagle Family of Funds, Cougar, the asset management operations of Raymond James & Associates, trust services of Raymond James Trust, and other fee-based asset management programs. The RJ Bank segment provides corporate loans, SBL, tax-exempt loans, and residential loans. The Other segment engages in private equity activities, including various direct and third party private equity investments; and private equity funds. Raymond James Financial, Inc. was founded in 1962 and is based in St. Petersburg, Florida.

About Tri Continental

Tri-Continental Corporation is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC. It primarily invests in the public equity markets of the United States. The fund invests in stocks of companies that operate across diversified sectors. It seeks to invest in stocks of large-cap companies. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against S&P 500 Index. Tri-Continental Corporation was formed in January 1929 and is domiciled in the United States.