Analyzing GAM (OTCMKTS:GMHLY) & Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG)

GAM (OTCMKTS:GMHLY) and Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

56.6% of Westwood Holdings Group shares are held by institutional investors. 17.4% of Westwood Holdings Group shares are held by company 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 GAM and Westwood Holdings Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
GAM	N/A	N/A	N/A
Westwood Holdings Group	7.40%	8.34%	6.82%

Dividends

GAM pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 82.1%. Westwood Holdings Group pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. GAM pays out 58.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Westwood Holdings Group pays out 72.3% 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. GAM is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares GAM and Westwood Holdings Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
GAM	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.20	0.71
Westwood Holdings Group	$97.76 million	1.88	$7.06 million	$0.83	23.27

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for GAM and Westwood Holdings Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
GAM	0	0	0	0	0.00
Westwood Holdings Group	0	0	1	0	3.00

Summary

Westwood Holdings Group beats GAM on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About GAM

GAM Holding AG is a publicly owned asset management holding company. The firm provides its services to institutions, financial intermediaries and private investors. Through its subsidiaries, the firm manages separate client focused equity and fixed income portfolios. Through its subsidiaries, it also launches and manages equity, fixed income, and balanced mutual funds. Through its subsidiaries, the firm invests in public equity and fixed income markets. GAM Holding AG is based in Zurich, Switzerland with an additional office in Geneva, Switzerland and London, United Kingdom.

About Westwood Holdings Group

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, manages investment assets and provides services for its clients. The company operates in two segments, Advisory and Trust. The Advisory segment provides investment advisory services to corporate retirement plans, public retirement plans, endowments, foundations, individuals, and the Westwood Funds; and investment sub-advisory services to mutual funds, pooled investment vehicles, and its Trust segment. The Trust segment offers trust and custodial services; and participates in common trust funds that it sponsors to institutions and high net worth individuals. Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is based in Dallas, Texas.