Analyzing Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior (NYSE:BLX) and Agri Bank China (OTCMKTS:ACGBY)

Agri Bank China (OTCMKTS:ACGBY) and Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior (NYSE:BLX) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

19.5% of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Agri Bank China has a beta of 0.06, suggesting that its share price is 94% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Agri Bank China and Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Agri Bank China	$195.64 billion	1.32	$39.24 billion	$2.70	6.84
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior	$829.46 million	2.00	$205.87 million	$6.01	7.42

Agri Bank China has higher revenue and earnings than Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior. Agri Bank China is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Agri Bank China and Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Agri Bank China	0	0	0	0	0.00
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior	0	0	0	1	4.00

Profitability

This table compares Agri Bank China and Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Agri Bank China	21.14%	9.25%	0.63%
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior	26.58%	15.42%	1.80%

Dividends

Agri Bank China pays an annual dividend of $0.61 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior pays an annual dividend of $2.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Agri Bank China pays out 22.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior pays out 41.6% 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. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior beats Agri Bank China on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Agri Bank China

Agricultural Bank of China Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking products and services. The company operates through Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, and Treasury Operations segments. It offers demand, personal call, foreign currency call, time or demand optional, foreign exchange call, foreign exchange time, savings, agreed term, and negotiated deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; and loans, including housing, consumer, business, fixed asset, working capital, real estate, and entrusted syndicated loans, as well as trade finances, guarantees and commitments, and loans with custody of export rebates accounts. The company provides credit card, debit card, payment and settlement, private banking, cash management, investment banking, custody, financial market, and financial institution services, as well as trading and wealth management services; and personal fund collection and automatic transfer services. In addition, it offers agro-related personal and corporate banking products and services; telephone, mobile, self-service, television, and SMS banking services; financial leasing services; fund management services; asset custodian services; and insurance and reinsurance related products and services. The company operates domestic branches, including specialized institutions, training institutes, tier-1 branches, tier-2 branches, tier-1 sub-branches, foundation-level branch outlets and other establishments; overseas branches in Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, New York, Dubai International Financial Centre, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Sydney, Luxemburg, Dubai, London, Macao, and Hanoi; and overseas representative offices in Vancouver, Taipei, Sao Paulo, and Dushanbe. The company was founded in 1951 and is based in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.

About Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A., a multinational bank, primarily engages in the financing of foreign trade in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company operates in two segments, Commercial and Treasury. It offers bilateral loans; structured loans including syndicated and clubbed, such as acquisition and pre-export financing, A/B loan financing, bridge loans, and liability management; and project financing. The company also provides letter of credit comprising import and export letters of credit, and credit discounting and financing, as well as usance payable at sight; stand-by services; bank guarantees, including first demand and local guarantees; import and export documentary collection; irrevocable reimbursement undertaking; and canal tolls. In addition, it offers liquidity and investment solutions, such as time deposits, DDA accounts, Yankee certificate of deposits, and EMTN private placement services, as well as supply chain finance services. The company primarily serves financial institutions, corporations, and sovereigns and state-owned entities. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A.was formerly known as Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones, S.A. and changed its name to Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. in June 2009. The company was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Panama City, the Republic of Panama.