Contrasting Agri Bank China (OTCMKTS:ACGBY) & Bank Hapoalim (OTCMKTS:BKHYY)

Bank Hapoalim (OTCMKTS:BKHYY) and Agri Bank China (OTCMKTS:ACGBY) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Bank Hapoalim and Agri Bank China’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank Hapoalim	21.60%	14.60%	1.20%
Agri Bank China	21.14%	9.25%	0.63%

Dividends

Bank Hapoalim pays an annual dividend of $3.82 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Agri Bank China pays an annual dividend of $0.61 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Bank Hapoalim pays out 38.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Agri Bank China pays out 22.6% 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. Agri Bank China is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk & Volatility

Bank Hapoalim has a beta of 1.19, meaning that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Agri Bank China has a beta of 0.07, meaning that its share price is 93% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Bank Hapoalim and Agri Bank China, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank Hapoalim	0	2	0	0	2.00
Agri Bank China	0	0	0	0	0.00

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Bank Hapoalim and Agri Bank China”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank Hapoalim	$10.95 billion	3.09	$2.08 billion	$9.89	13.02
Agri Bank China	$195.64 billion	1.24	$39.24 billion	$2.70	6.41

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

Summary

Bank Hapoalim beats Agri Bank China on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank Hapoalim

Bank Hapoalim B.M., together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking and financial products and services in Israel and internationally. It operates through Household, Private Banking, Small businesses and micro businesses, Mid-sized businesses, Large businesses, Institutional entities, and Financial management segments. The company offers account-management services, lending for various purposes, deposits, and savings plans, and capital-market service; housing loans; research and advisory services; and pension advisory and retirement planning services. It also provides products and services for the expansion of a business, advanced digital services, and a service center specializing in businesses; credit for routine operations and investment financing, guarantees, letters of credit, foreign trade, and transactions in financial and derivative instruments, as well as investment services in various channels, such as foreign currency, shekels, and securities. In addition, the company offers financial services, including foreign-trade financing, financing of working capital, financing of assets overseas, complex financing transactions, syndication, and credit-risk transfers; and financing of construction projects, granting credit to customers, and issuing guarantees to buyers of homes. Further, it provides managers of mutual funds, managers of investment portfolios, and managers of provident funds, study funds, and pension funds; trading activities; underwriting services; and brokerage and custody services. The company serves households, private-banking customers, foreign residents, small businesses, financial-asset managers, middle-market business clients, and large corporations. Bank Hapoalim B.M. was founded in 1921 and is based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

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.