Critical Comparison: TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST) and Swedbank (OTCMKTS:SWDBY)

Swedbank (OTCMKTS:SWDBY) and TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Dividends

Swedbank pays an annual dividend of SEK 1.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. TrustCo Bank Corp NY pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Swedbank pays out 49.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. TrustCo Bank Corp NY pays out 44.4% 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Swedbank and TrustCo Bank Corp NY, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Swedbank	2	2	2	0	2.00
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	0	0	0	1	4.00

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Swedbank and TrustCo Bank Corp NY”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Swedbank	$11.08 billion	4.12	$3.35 billion	SEK 2.95	13.75
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	$278.36 million	3.30	$61.14 million	$3.60	14.96

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

68.6% of TrustCo Bank Corp NY shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of TrustCo Bank Corp NY 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.

Profitability

This table compares Swedbank and TrustCo Bank Corp NY’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Swedbank	29.45%	14.84%	0.99%
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	22.76%	9.62%	1.01%

Volatility & Risk

Swedbank has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TrustCo Bank Corp NY has a beta of 0.65, suggesting that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

About Swedbank

Swedbank AB (publ) provides various banking products and services to private and corporate customers in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the United States, Finland, Denmark, Luxembourg, and China. The company operates through three business areas: Swedish Banking, Baltic Banking, and Corporates and Institutions. It offers savings accounts, mutual funds and insurance savings, pension savings, institutional asset management, and other savings and investment products; private residential lending, consumer financing, corporate lending, leasing, and other financing products, as well as trade finance and factoring services; and current accounts, cash handling, debit and credit cards, and card acquiring, as well as domestic, international, mobile, document, and other payment products. The company also provides equity trading, structured products, corporate finance, custody services, fixed income and currency trading, and other capital market products; and administrative services, treasury operations, real estate brokerage and management services, legal services, safe deposit boxes, and other services. In addition, it offers pension insurance and plan, life, endowment insurance, and personal insurance products; investment management, investment banking, and mortgage lending services; and transaction banking services comprising cash management, securities, account, and clearing and settlement services, as well as Internet and mobile banking services. The company was formerly known as ForeningsSparbanken AB and changed its name to Swedbank AB (publ) in September 2006. Swedbank AB (publ) was founded in 1820 and is headquartered in Sundbyberg, Sweden.

About TrustCo Bank Corp NY

TrustCo Bank Corp NY operates as the holding company for Trustco Bank, a federal savings bank that provides personal and business banking services to individuals and businesses. The company accepts deposits; and offers loans and investments. It also operates as a real estate investment trust that acquires, holds, and manages real estate mortgage assets, including residential mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities. In addition, the company serves as the executor of estates and trustee of personal trusts; provides asset and wealth management, estate planning and related advice, and custodial services; and acts as trustee for various types of employee benefit plans, and corporate pension and profit-sharing trusts. It operates through banking offices in Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Montgomery, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Ulster, Warren, Washington, and Westchester counties of New York; Brevard, Charlotte, Flagler, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Manatee, Martin, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, and Volusia counties in Florida; Bennington County in Vermont; Berkshire County in Massachusetts; and Bergen County in New Jersey, as well as automatic teller machines. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Glenville, New York.