Analyzing Intesa Sanpaolo (OTCMKTS:ISNPY) & ING Group (NYSE:ING)

ING Group (NYSE:ING) and Intesa Sanpaolo (OTCMKTS:ISNPY) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares ING Group and Intesa Sanpaolo’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ING Group	27.50%	12.26%	0.59%
Intesa Sanpaolo	22.67%	13.57%	0.97%

Volatility & Risk

ING Group has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Intesa Sanpaolo has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

4.5% of ING Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.2% of Intesa Sanpaolo shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

ING Group pays an annual dividend of $0.69 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Intesa Sanpaolo pays an annual dividend of $1.87 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. ING Group pays out 28.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Intesa Sanpaolo pays out 55.7% 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for ING Group and Intesa Sanpaolo, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ING Group	0	1	6	2	3.11
Intesa Sanpaolo	0	4	4	1	2.67

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ING Group and Intesa Sanpaolo”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ING Group	$26.06 billion	3.21	$7.16 billion	$2.39	12.03
Intesa Sanpaolo	$48.17 billion	2.47	$9.38 billion	$3.36	12.22

Intesa Sanpaolo has higher revenue and earnings than ING Group. ING Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Intesa Sanpaolo, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

ING Group beats Intesa Sanpaolo on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ING Group

ING Groep N.V. provides various banking products and services in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through five segments: Retail Netherlands, Retail Belgium, Retail Germany, Retail Other, and Wholesale Banking. The company accepts current and savings accounts. It also offers business lending products; SME loans; consumer lending products, such as residential mortgage loans and other consumer lending loans; and mortgages. In addition, the company provides working capital solutions; debt and equity market solutions; various loans; payments; and cash management, trade and corporate finance, and treasury services, as well as savings, investment, insurance, and digital banking services. It serves individual customers, corporate clients, and financial institutions. ING Groep N.V. was founded in 1762 and is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

About Intesa Sanpaolo

Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. provides various financial products and services primarily in Italy. It operates through six segments: Banca dei Territori, IMI Corporate & Investment Banking, International Subsidiary Banks, Asset Management, Private Banking, and Insurance. The company offers lending and deposit products; private and commercial banking, corporate and transaction banking, structured finance, investment banking, public finance, and capital markets; industrial credit, leasing, and factoring; asset management; life and non-life insurance and pension products; asset and wealth management; private investments; and bancassurance products. The company serves individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, non-profit customers, corporates and financial institutions, public administration, private clients and high net worth individuals, institutional clientele, and other customers. Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Turin, Italy.