Head-To-Head Survey: Shinhan Financial Group (NYSE:SHG) & Agri Bank China (OTCMKTS:ACGBY)

Agri Bank China (OTCMKTS:ACGBY) and Shinhan Financial Group (NYSE:SHG) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

Agri Bank China has a beta of 0.11, meaning that its share price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shinhan Financial Group has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Agri Bank China pays an annual dividend of $0.61 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Shinhan Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Agri Bank China pays out 22.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Shinhan Financial Group pays out 11.7% 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Agri Bank China and Shinhan Financial Group”s top-line 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	1.34	$39.24 billion	$2.70	6.92
Shinhan Financial Group	$16,707.18 billion	0.00	$3.12 billion	$10.27	5.45

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Agri Bank China and Shinhan Financial Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Agri Bank China	0	0	0	0	0.00
Shinhan Financial Group	0	1	1	0	2.50

Institutional and Insider Ownership

7.8% of Shinhan Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Shinhan Financial Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Agri Bank China	20.80%	9.22%	0.64%
Shinhan Financial Group	21.21%	12.27%	0.98%

Summary

Shinhan Financial Group beats Agri Bank China on 11 of the 15 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 Shinhan Financial Group

Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. provides financial products and services in South Korea and internationally. The company operates through six segments: Banking, Credit Card, Securities, Insurance, Credit, and Others. It offers retail banking services, including demand, savings, and fixed deposit-taking; checking accounts; mortgage and home equity, and retail lending; electronic banking and automatic teller machines (ATM); and bill paying, payroll and check-cashing, currency exchange, and wire fund transfer services. The company also provides corporate banking services, such as investment banking, real estate financing, overseas real estate and development project financing, infrastructure and structured financing, equity/venture investments, mergers and acquisitions consulting; securitization and derivatives services comprising securities and derivative products, and foreign exchange trading; business expansion financing and consulting services; and working capital loans and facilities loans. In addition, it is involved in treasury and investment activities in international capital markets consisting of foreign currency-denominated securities trading, foreign exchange trading and services, trade-related financial services, international factoring services, and foreign banking operations. Further, the company offers real estate trust, investment advisory, venture business investment, life and non-life insurance, trust account management, securities brokerage, and asset management services, as well as leasing and equipment financing, savings banking, loan collection and credit reporting, collective investment administration, private equity investment, and financial system development services. Additionally, it provides transaction history inquiries and fund transfers, opening letters of credit, trade finance, payment and collection management, sales and acquisition settlement, business-to-business settlement, sweeping, pooling, ERP interface, host-to-host banking, SWIFT SCORE, and cash and liquidity management service. Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.