Head-To-Head Contrast: Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) & China Minsheng (OTCMKTS:CMAKY)

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) and China Minsheng (OTCMKTS:CMAKY) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Banco Santander has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, China Minsheng has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Banco Santander and China Minsheng”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banco Santander	$66.36 billion	3.09	$15.95 billion	$1.21	11.54
China Minsheng	$33.55 billion	0.53	$4.25 billion	$0.86	4.70

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Banco Santander and China Minsheng, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banco Santander	1	3	6	0	2.50
China Minsheng	0	1	0	0	2.00

Institutional & Insider Ownership

9.2% of Banco Santander shares are held by institutional investors. 9.5% of Banco Santander shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Banco Santander and China Minsheng’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banco Santander	26.92%	12.23%	0.74%
China Minsheng	11.70%	4.23%	0.38%

Dividends

Banco Santander pays an annual dividend of $0.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. China Minsheng pays an annual dividend of $0.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Banco Santander pays out 17.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. China Minsheng pays out 12.8% 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. China Minsheng is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Banco Santander beats China Minsheng on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Banco Santander

Banco Santander, S.A. provides various financial services worldwide. The company operates through Retail Banking, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, Wealth Management & Insurance, and PagoNxt segments. It offers demand and time deposits, mutual funds, and current and savings accounts; mortgages, consumer finance, loans, and various financing solutions; and project finance, debt capital markets, global transaction banking, and corporate finance services. The company also provides asset management and private banking services; and insurance products. In addition, it offers corporate and investment banking services; and digital payment solutions. Further, it offers online banking and financial services to retail, business, institutional, corporate, private banking and university customers and clients. The company was formerly known as Banco Santander Central Hispano SA and changed its name to Banco Santander, S.A. in February 2007. Banco Santander, S.A. was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.

About China Minsheng

China Minsheng Banking Corp., Ltd. provides banking products and services for individuals, small and micro-enterprises, corporate customers, government agencies, and financial institutions in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through Corporate Banking, Retail Banking, and Others segments. Its deposit products include saving accounts, deposit books and certificates, contracted deposits, agreement deposits, call deposits, corporate term deposits, and corporate current deposits. The company also offers personal housing mortgage, individual automobile purchase, household composite consumption, micro-credit products for individuals, medium and long term, and short-term working capital loans; and debit and credit cards. In addition, it provides appointed and domestic remittance, payment and collection agent, clearing, safe deposit boxes, VIP, and salary and welfare agent card services, as well as internet, mobile, telephone, and self-serve banking services. Further, the company offers gross settlement; wages distribution agency and letter of guarantee; cash management; trade finance; industrial chain finance; individual forex settlement, forex remittance, travelers promissory notes, collection, individual deposit certificate, and guarantee letter products; and comprehensive credit granting, forex settlement and sale, financial product investment, asset management, and trust financing services. Additionally, it provides convenient finance and investment banking services, as well as non-financial services in the education, business travel, traveler, art, luxury life, health, club, and isports areas. The company operates through branch-level institutions, business outlets, community sub-branches, and small business sub-branches. China Minsheng Banking Corp., Ltd. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.