Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) versus Intesa Sanpaolo (OTCMKTS:ISNPY) Critical Survey

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) and Intesa Sanpaolo (OTCMKTS:ISNPY) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

3.0% of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.2% of Intesa Sanpaolo shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria and Intesa Sanpaolo, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria	0	3	1	1	2.60
Intesa Sanpaolo	0	4	4	1	2.67

Dividends

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Intesa Sanpaolo pays an annual dividend of $1.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria pays out 30.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Intesa Sanpaolo pays out 55.4% 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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria	28.43%	17.29%	1.31%
Intesa Sanpaolo	22.67%	13.57%	0.97%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria and Intesa Sanpaolo”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria	$41.77 billion	2.96	$11.89 billion	$1.97	10.89
Intesa Sanpaolo	$48.17 billion	2.16	$9.38 billion	$3.36	10.67

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

Volatility and Risk

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Intesa Sanpaolo has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria beats Intesa Sanpaolo on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Intesa Sanpaolo

Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. provides various financial products and services primarily in Italy. It operates through six segments: Banca dei Territori, IMI Corporate & Investment Banking, International Subsidiary Banks, Asset Management, Private Banking, and Insurance. The company offers lending and deposit products; private and commercial banking, corporate and transaction banking, structured finance, investment banking, public finance, and capital markets; industrial credit, leasing, and factoring; asset management; life and non-life insurance and pension products; asset and wealth management; private investments; and bancassurance products. The company serves individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, non-profit customers, corporates and financial institutions, public administration, private clients and high net worth individuals, institutional clientele, and other customers. Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Turin, Italy.