Critical Survey: Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) versus UBS Group (NYSE:UBS)

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) and Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares UBS Group and Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
UBS Group	11.02%	8.31%	0.46%
Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria	28.58%	17.07%	1.32%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares UBS Group and Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
UBS Group	$84.56 billion	1.75	$5.09 billion	$2.22	21.28
Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria	$39.27 billion	3.52	$10.88 billion	$1.91	12.40

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has lower revenue, but higher earnings than UBS Group. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than UBS Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for UBS Group and Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
UBS Group	1	3	6	2	2.75
Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria	0	3	2	1	2.67

UBS Group currently has a consensus price target of $60.30, suggesting a potential upside of 27.62%. Given UBS Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe UBS Group is more favorable than Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria.

Volatility & Risk

UBS Group has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

3.0% of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of UBS Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

UBS Group beats Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About UBS Group

UBS Group AG provides financial advice and solutions to private, institutional, and corporate clients worldwide. It operates through five divisions: Global Wealth Management, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management, Investment Bank, and Non-core and Legacy. The company offers investment advice, estate and wealth planning, investing, corporate and banking, and investment management, as well as mortgage, securities-based, and structured lending solutions. It also provides personal banking products and services, such as deposits, credit and debit cards, and online and mobile banking, as well as lending, investments, retirement, and wealth management services; and corporate and institutional solutions, including equity and debt capital markets, syndicated and structured credit, private placements, leasing, traditional financing, and transaction banking solutions for payment and cash management services, trade and export finance, and global custody solutions. In addition, the company offers equities, fixed income, hedge funds, real estate and private markets, indexed and alternative beta strategies, asset allocation and currency investment strategies, customized multi-asset solutions, advisory and fiduciary services, and multi-manager hedge fund solutions and advisory services. Further, it advises clients on strategic business opportunities and helps them raise capital to fund their activities; enables its clients to buy, sell, and finance securities on capital markets and to manage their risks and liquidity; distributes, trades in, finances, and clears cash equities and equity-linked products; structures, originates, and distributes new equity and equity-linked issues; and originates, distributes, manages risk, and provides liquidity in foreign exchange, rates, credit and precious metals. The company was formerly known as UBS AG and changed its name to UBS Group AG in December 2014. UBS Group AG was founded in 1862 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.

About Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. provides retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management services in the United States, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and internationally. The company offers savings account, demand deposits, and time deposits; and loan products, such as residential mortgages, other households, credit card loans, loans to enterprises and public sector, as well as consumer finance. It provides insurance and asset management business, including corporate, commercial, SME, payment systems, retail, private and investment banking, pension and life insurance, leasing, factoring, and brokerage. The company provides its products through online and mobile channels. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Bilbao, Spain.