Head to Head Review: Cannae (NYSE:CNNE) versus Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores (NYSE:AVAL)

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores (NYSE:AVAL) and Cannae (NYSE:CNNE) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores and Cannae’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores	4.61%	5.95%	0.60%
Cannae	-108.39%	-23.16%	-18.38%

Volatility & Risk

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cannae has a beta of 1.14, suggesting that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores pays an annual dividend of $0.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Cannae pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores pays out 33.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cannae pays out -7.8% 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. Cannae is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores and Cannae, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores	0	1	1	0	2.50
Cannae	1	1	2	0	2.25

Cannae has a consensus target price of $20.50, suggesting a potential upside of 22.40%. Given Cannae’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Cannae is more favorable than Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.2% of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.1% of Cannae shares are held by institutional investors. 10.9% of Cannae shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores and Cannae”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores	$9.07 billion	0.55	$203.02 million	$0.33	12.73
Cannae	$452.50 million	1.82	-$304.60 million	($7.73)	-2.17

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores has higher revenue and earnings than Cannae. Cannae is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. provides a range of financial services and products to public and private sector customers in Colombia and Central America. It offers traditional deposit services and products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, time deposits, and other deposits. The company also provides commercial loans comprising general purpose loans, working capital loans, leases, loans funded by development banks, corporate credit cards, and overdraft loans; consumer loans, such as payroll loans, personal loans, automobile and other vehicle loans, credit cards, overdrafts, leases, and general purpose loans; and microcredit and mortgage loans. In addition, the company offers pension and severance fund management services; investment banking, including services relating to capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and project finance transactions; mobile and online banking services; and bancassurance, insurance, trust, bonded warehousing and brokerage transactions, real estate escrow services, merchandise and document storage and deposit, customs agency, cargo management, surety bond and merchandise distribution services, and payment and collection services. Further, it is involved in equity investments in various sectors, including infrastructure, energy and gas, agribusiness, and hospitality; and treasury operations. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Bogotá, Colombia. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A.

About Cannae

Cannae Holdings, Inc. is a principal investment firm. The firm primarily invests in restaurants, technology enabled healthcare services, financial services and more. It takes both minority and majority stakes. Cannae Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2014 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.