Contrasting First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) and Standard Chartered (OTC:SCBFF)

Standard Chartered (OTC:SCBFF) and First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Dividends

Standard Chartered pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. First Commonwealth Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Standard Chartered pays out 40.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Commonwealth Financial pays out 40.3% 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.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

72.6% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Standard Chartered and First Commonwealth Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Standard Chartered	$37.48 billion	0.96	$3.47 billion	$1.37	10.75
First Commonwealth Financial	$479.86 million	3.37	$142.57 million	$1.34	11.86

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Standard Chartered and First Commonwealth Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Standard Chartered	0	0	0	1	4.00
First Commonwealth Financial	0	3	3	0	2.50

First Commonwealth Financial has a consensus target price of $18.92, suggesting a potential upside of 19.05%. Given First Commonwealth Financial’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Commonwealth Financial is more favorable than Standard Chartered.

Profitability

This table compares Standard Chartered and First Commonwealth Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Standard Chartered	10.92%	9.49%	0.58%
First Commonwealth Financial	20.38%	10.36%	1.22%

Volatility and Risk

Standard Chartered has a beta of 0.54, indicating that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Commonwealth Financial has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Commonwealth Financial beats Standard Chartered on 11 of the 17 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 First Commonwealth Financial

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides various consumer and commercial banking services in the United States. Its consumer services include personal checking accounts, interest-earning checking accounts, savings and health savings accounts, insured money market accounts, debit cards, investment certificates, fixed and variable rate certificates of deposit, mortgage loans, secured and unsecured installment loans, construction and real estate loans, safe deposit facilities, credit cards, credit lines with overdraft checking protection, IRA accounts, and automated teller machine (atm) services, as well as internet, mobile, and telephone banking services. The company's commercial banking services comprise commercial lending, business checking accounts, online account management services, payroll direct deposits, commercial cash management services, and repurchase agreements, as well as ACH origination services. In addition, it offers various trust and asset management services; auto, home, and business insurance, as well as term life insurance; and annuities, mutual funds, and stock and bond brokerage services through a broker-dealer and insurance brokers. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania.