Comerica (NYSE:CMA) & Standard Chartered (OTCMKTS:SCBFF) Critical Comparison

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) and Standard Chartered (OTCMKTS:SCBFF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Comerica and Standard Chartered’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Comerica	16.71%	19.41%	1.17%
Standard Chartered	9.26%	8.01%	0.47%

Volatility & Risk

Comerica has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Standard Chartered has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Comerica pays an annual dividend of $2.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. Standard Chartered pays an annual dividend of $0.42 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Comerica pays out 44.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Standard Chartered pays out 39.6% 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. Comerica has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Comerica is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Comerica and Standard Chartered, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Comerica	2	13	6	0	2.19
Standard Chartered	1	1	0	0	1.50

Comerica currently has a consensus price target of $56.02, indicating a potential upside of 1.88%. Standard Chartered has a consensus price target of $930.00, indicating a potential upside of 10,751.81%. Given Standard Chartered’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Standard Chartered is more favorable than Comerica.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Comerica and Standard Chartered’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Comerica	$5.25 billion	1.39	$881.00 million	$6.44	8.54
Standard Chartered	$37.48 billion	0.61	$3.47 billion	$1.06	8.08

Standard Chartered has higher revenue and earnings than Comerica. Standard Chartered is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Comerica, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

80.7% of Comerica shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Comerica shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Comerica beats Standard Chartered on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Comerica

Comerica Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services. The company operates through Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, Wealth Management, and Finance segments. The Commercial Bank segment offers various products and services, including commercial loans and lines of credit, deposits, cash management, payment solutions, card services, capital market products, international trade finance, letters of credit, foreign exchange management services, and loan syndication services for small and middle market businesses, multinational corporations, and governmental entities. The Retail Bank segment provides personal financial services, such as consumer lending, consumer deposit gathering, and mortgage loan origination; and various consumer products that include deposit accounts, installment loans, credit cards, student loans, home equity lines of credit, and residential mortgage loans. The Wealth Management segment offers products and services comprising financial planning, trust and fiduciary services, investment management and advisory, brokerage, private banking, and business transition planning services for affluents, high-net worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, business owners, and executives, and institutional clients. The Finance segment comprises securities portfolio, and asset and liability management activities. It operates in Texas, California, Michigan, Arizona, and Florida, the United States; and Canada and Mexico. The company was formerly known as DETROITBANK Corporation and changed its name to Comerica Incorporated in July 1982. Comerica Incorporated was founded in 1849 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

About Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered PLC, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. The company operates in three segments: Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking; Consumer, Private & Business Banking; and Ventures. It offers retail products, such as deposits, mortgages, credit cards, and personal loans; wealth management products and services that include investments, portfolio management, insurance, and wealth advice; and transaction banking services, such as cash management, working capital, and trade financing products. The company provides financial markets products and services that comprise project and export financing; debt capital markets and leveraged financing; financing and securities services; sales and structuring; macro, commodities, and credit trading; and market research services. In addition, it offers digital banking solutions. It serves financial institutions, governments, banks, investors, corporations, small to medium-sized businesses, and individuals. Standard Chartered PLC was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.