Contrasting Swedbank (OTCMKTS:SWDBY) & National Bank (NYSE:NBHC)

Swedbank (OTCMKTS:SWDBY) and National Bank (NYSE:NBHC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Swedbank and National Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Swedbank	28.94%	14.76%	0.97%
National Bank	8.02%	5.90%	0.78%

Risk and Volatility

Swedbank has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Bank has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Swedbank and National Bank, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Swedbank	2	2	2	0	2.00
National Bank	0	3	2	0	2.40

National Bank has a consensus price target of $42.33, suggesting a potential upside of 13.87%. Given National Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe National Bank is more favorable than Swedbank.

Dividends

Swedbank pays an annual dividend of SEK 1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. National Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Swedbank pays out 50.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. National Bank pays out 101.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. National Bank has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Swedbank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.7% of National Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.8% of National Bank shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Swedbank and National Bank”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Swedbank	$11.08 billion	4.32	$3.35 billion	SEK 2.92	14.60
National Bank	$587.34 million	2.82	$109.57 million	$1.26	29.51

Swedbank has higher revenue and earnings than National Bank. Swedbank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Swedbank beats National Bank on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Swedbank

Swedbank AB (publ) provides various banking products and services to private and corporate customers in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the United States, Finland, Denmark, Luxembourg, and China. The company operates through three business areas: Swedish Banking, Baltic Banking, and Corporates and Institutions. It offers savings accounts, mutual funds and insurance savings, pension savings, institutional asset management, and other savings and investment products; private residential lending, consumer financing, corporate lending, leasing, and other financing products, as well as trade finance and factoring services; and current accounts, cash handling, debit and credit cards, and card acquiring, as well as domestic, international, mobile, document, and other payment products. The company also provides equity trading, structured products, corporate finance, custody services, fixed income and currency trading, and other capital market products; and administrative services, treasury operations, real estate brokerage and management services, legal services, safe deposit boxes, and other services. In addition, it offers pension insurance and plan, life, endowment insurance, and personal insurance products; investment management, investment banking, and mortgage lending services; and transaction banking services comprising cash management, securities, account, and clearing and settlement services, as well as Internet and mobile banking services. The company was formerly known as ForeningsSparbanken AB and changed its name to Swedbank AB (publ) in September 2006. Swedbank AB (publ) was founded in 1820 and is headquartered in Sundbyberg, Sweden.

About National Bank

National Bank Holdings Corporation operates as the bank holding company for NBH Bank that provides various banking products and financial services to commercial, business, and consumer clients in the United States. It offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts, including fixed-rate and fixed maturity time deposits. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans and leases, such as working capital loans, equipment loans, lender finance loans, food and agriculture loans, government and non-profit loans, owner occupied commercial real estate loans, and other commercial loans and leases; non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans consisting of loans on commercial properties, such as office buildings, warehouse/distribution buildings, multi-family, hospitality, and retail buildings; small business administration loans to support small businesses and entrepreneurs; term loans, line of credits, and real estate secured loans; residential real estate loans; and consumer loans. In addition, it offers treasury management solutions comprising online and mobile banking, commercial credit card, wire transfer, automated clearing house, electronic bill payment, lock box, remote deposit capture, merchant processing, cash vault, controlled disbursements, and fraud prevention services, as well as other auxiliary services, including account reconciliation, collections, repurchase accounts, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. The company operates through a network of banking centers located in Colorado, the greater Kansas City region, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Texas. It also operates ATMs. The company was formerly known as NBH Holdings Corp. and changed its name to National Bank Holdings Corporation in March 2012. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.