Bank Hapoalim (OTCMKTS:BKHYY) and Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Head to Head Comparison

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) and Bank Hapoalim (OTCMKTS:BKHYY) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

Banco Santander Chile has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank Hapoalim has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

6.4% of Banco Santander Chile shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Banco Santander Chile pays an annual dividend of $0.99 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Bank Hapoalim pays an annual dividend of $3.82 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Banco Santander Chile pays out 42.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank Hapoalim pays out 38.6% 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. Bank Hapoalim is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Banco Santander Chile and Bank Hapoalim, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banco Santander Chile	1	4	0	0	1.80
Bank Hapoalim	0	1	0	0	2.00

Banco Santander Chile presently has a consensus target price of $27.67, suggesting a potential downside of 11.69%. Given Banco Santander Chile’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Banco Santander Chile is more favorable than Bank Hapoalim.

Profitability

This table compares Banco Santander Chile and Bank Hapoalim’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banco Santander Chile	24.74%	22.18%	1.58%
Bank Hapoalim	21.60%	14.60%	1.20%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Banco Santander Chile and Bank Hapoalim”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banco Santander Chile	$4.72 billion	3.13	$938.26 million	$2.32	13.50
Bank Hapoalim	$10.95 billion	2.72	$2.08 billion	$9.89	11.46

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

About Banco Santander Chile

Banco Santander-Chile, together with its subsidiaries, provides commercial and retail banking services in Chile. It operates through Retail Banking, Middle-Market, Corporate Investment Banking, and Corporate Activities segments. The company offers debit and credit cards, checking accounts, and savings products; consumer, automobile, commercial, mortgage, and government-guaranteed loans; and Chilean peso and foreign currency-denominated loans to finance various commercial transactions, trade, foreign currency forward contracts, and credit lines, as well as mortgage financing services. It also provides mutual fund management, insurance and securities brokerage, foreign exchange services, financial leasing, financial consulting and advisory, investment management, foreign trade, leasing, factoring, treasury, and transactional services, as well as specialized services to finance residential projects. In addition, the company offers short-term financing and fundraising, and brokerage services, as well as derivatives, securitization, and other products; and manages capital allocations. It serves individuals, small to middle-sized entities, companies, and large corporations, as well as universities, government entities, and local and regional governments. The company was incorporated in 1977 and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile. Banco Santander-Chile operates as a subsidiary of Banco Santander, S.A.

About Bank Hapoalim

Bank Hapoalim B.M., together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking and financial products and services in Israel and internationally. It operates through Household, Private Banking, Small businesses and micro businesses, Mid-sized businesses, Large businesses, Institutional entities, and Financial management segments. The company offers account-management services, lending for various purposes, deposits, and savings plans, and capital-market service; housing loans; research and advisory services; and pension advisory and retirement planning services. It also provides products and services for the expansion of a business, advanced digital services, and a service center specializing in businesses; credit for routine operations and investment financing, guarantees, letters of credit, foreign trade, and transactions in financial and derivative instruments, as well as investment services in various channels, such as foreign currency, shekels, and securities. In addition, the company offers financial services, including foreign-trade financing, financing of working capital, financing of assets overseas, complex financing transactions, syndication, and credit-risk transfers; and financing of construction projects, granting credit to customers, and issuing guarantees to buyers of homes. Further, it provides managers of mutual funds, managers of investment portfolios, and managers of provident funds, study funds, and pension funds; trading activities; underwriting services; and brokerage and custody services. The company serves households, private-banking customers, foreign residents, small businesses, financial-asset managers, middle-market business clients, and large corporations. Bank Hapoalim B.M. was founded in 1921 and is based in Tel Aviv, Israel.