Head-To-Head Comparison: Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) and Swedbank (OTCMKTS:SWDBY)

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

68.0% of Western New England Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.6% of Western New England Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western New England Bancorp	13.27%	7.25%	0.65%
Swedbank	30.22%	15.02%	1.05%

Volatility and Risk

Western New England Bancorp has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Swedbank has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Western New England Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Swedbank pays an annual dividend of SEK 1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Western New England Bancorp pays out 31.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Swedbank pays out 49.5% 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 recent recommendations and price targets for Western New England Bancorp and Swedbank, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western New England Bancorp	0	2	2	0	2.50
Swedbank	3	2	0	0	1.40

Western New England Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.21%. Given Western New England Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Western New England Bancorp is more favorable than Swedbank.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Western New England Bancorp and Swedbank”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western New England Bancorp	$131.13 million	2.09	$15.27 million	$0.89	15.29
Swedbank	$11.08 billion	3.81	$3.35 billion	SEK 2.99	12.55

Swedbank has higher revenue and earnings than Western New England Bancorp. Swedbank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Western New England Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

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.

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.