Head to Head Contrast: Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) & Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ (OTCMKTS:SVNLY)

Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ (OTCMKTS:SVNLY) and Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Volatility & Risk

Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank of Nova Scotia has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ and Bank of Nova Scotia’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ	16.69%	14.18%	0.75%
Bank of Nova Scotia	12.40%	12.49%	0.67%

Dividends

Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ pays an annual dividend of $0.61 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.8%. Bank of Nova Scotia pays an annual dividend of $3.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ pays out 89.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Bank of Nova Scotia pays out 66.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank of Nova Scotia has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

49.1% of Bank of Nova Scotia shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ and Bank of Nova Scotia”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ	$21.75 billion	1.14	$2.42 billion	$0.68	9.18
Bank of Nova Scotia	$52.70 billion	1.57	$5.56 billion	$4.81	14.00

Bank of Nova Scotia has higher revenue and earnings than Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ. Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bank of Nova Scotia, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ and Bank of Nova Scotia, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ	2	4	0	0	1.67
Bank of Nova Scotia	0	3	2	0	2.40

Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus target price of $106.00, suggesting a potential upside of 57.40%. Given Bank of Nova Scotia’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Bank of Nova Scotia is more favorable than Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ.

Summary

Bank of Nova Scotia beats Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ

Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ) provides various banking products and services for private and corporate customers primarily in Sweden, the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, the United States, Luxembourg, Finland, and Poland. The company offers savings, transactions, business, currency, and investment accounts, as well as accounts for cash pool, and forestry and agriculture; mortgage and committed loans, and private loans; mutual funds; pension products; credit and debit cards; and payment and reconciliation services, as well as foreign exchange rate services. It also provides financing for investments, such as equipment, cars, computers, and other inventories, as well as vehicle and real estate financing services; green loans and advisor services; investment and other financing services; medical care, and group and health insurance products; forestry and farming banking products; and online and mobile banking services, as well as various banking services for children and young people. In addition, the company offers financial services, that includes asset management, transactional banking, corporate finance, financing, markets, trade finance, market information and research services to large corporations; cash management solutions; and various corporate banking services to small and medium-sized companies and large corporates, as well as private banking services. Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ) was incorporated in 1871 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets segments. The company offers financial advice and solutions, and banking products, including debit and credit cards, chequing and saving accounts, investments, mortgages, loans, and insurance to individuals; and retail automotive financing solutions. It also provides business banking solutions comprising lending, deposit, cash management, and trade finance solutions to small, medium, and large businesses. In addition, it provides wealth management advice and solutions, including online brokerage, mobile investment, full-service brokerage, trust, private banking, and private investment counsel services; and retail mutual funds, exchange traded funds, liquid alternatives, and institutional funds. The Bank of Nova Scotia was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.