Critical Survey: Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) versus National Australia Bank (OTCMKTS:NABZY)

National Australia Bank (OTCMKTS:NABZY) and Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares National Australia Bank and Western New England Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Australia Bank	$38.78 billion	2.76	$4.35 billion	N/A	N/A
Western New England Bancorp	$131.13 million	2.01	$15.27 million	$0.76	16.91

National Australia Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Western New England Bancorp.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

68.0% of Western New England Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of Western New England Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares National Australia Bank and Western New England Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Australia Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A
Western New England Bancorp	11.64%	6.36%	0.56%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for National Australia Bank and Western New England Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Australia Bank	2	0	0	3	2.80
Western New England Bancorp	0	2	0	1	2.67

National Australia Bank currently has a consensus target price of $38.00, suggesting a potential upside of 117.02%. Western New England Bancorp has a consensus target price of $11.00, suggesting a potential downside of 14.40%. Given National Australia Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe National Australia Bank is more favorable than Western New England Bancorp.

Dividends

National Australia Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Western New England Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Western New England Bancorp pays out 36.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Risk & Volatility

National Australia Bank has a beta of 1.15, suggesting that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western New England Bancorp has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

National Australia Bank beats Western New England Bancorp on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About National Australia Bank

National Australia Bank Limited provides financial services to individuals and businesses in Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. The company operates through Business and Private Banking; Personal Banking; Corporate and Institutional Banking; New Zealand Banking; and Corporate Functions and Other segments. It accepts transaction accounts, savings accounts, debit cards, and term deposits; and specialized accounts, such as foreign currency, business interest, cash maximiser, farm management, community free saver, statutory trust, and project bank accounts, as well as farm management deposits. In addition, the company provides home loans, personal loans, and business loans; vehicle and equipment finance; and trade and invoice finance, as well as business overdrafts and bank guarantees. Further, it offers insurance products consisting of home and content, landlord, travel, car, caravan and trailer, life, and business insurance products; and pension, self-managed super funds, cash management, and financial planning and advisory services. Additionally, the company provides investment products; credit, debit, and business cards; payments and merchant services; online and internet banking services; small business services; international and foreign exchange solutions; and industry specific banking services. The company was founded in 1834 and is based in Melbourne, Australia.

About Western New England Bancorp

Western New England Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Westfield Bank that provides a range of commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals and businesses. The company accepts various deposit accounts, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking, commercial checking, business, nonprofit and municipal checking, savings, money market and sweep, individual retirement, and other savings accounts; time deposits; certificates of deposit; and interest on lawyer's trust accounts. It also offers residential real estate loans, including first mortgages, home equity loans, and home equity lines, and secured by one-to-four family residential properties; commercial and industrial loans, such as letters of credit, revolving lines of credit, working capital, equipment financing, and term loans; commercial mortgage loans; construction and land development loans; home equity loans comprising home equity revolving loans and lines of credit; and consumer loans, including automobile, spa and pool, collateral, and personal lines of credit. In addition, the company provides automated teller machine (ATM), telephone and online banking, remote deposit capture, cash management, overdraft and safe deposit facility, and night deposit services. The company was formerly known as Westfield Financial, Inc. and changed its name to Western New England Bancorp, Inc. in October 2016. The company was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in Westfield, Massachusetts.