Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) & Norwood Financial (NASDAQ:NWFL) Head to Head Contrast

Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) and Norwood Financial (NASDAQ:NWFL) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Mizuho Financial Group and Norwood Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mizuho Financial Group	0	0	1	0	3.00
Norwood Financial	0	2	1	0	2.33

Norwood Financial has a consensus price target of $37.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.10%. Given Norwood Financial’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Norwood Financial is more favorable than Mizuho Financial Group.

Dividends

Mizuho Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Norwood Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Mizuho Financial Group pays out 17.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Norwood Financial pays out 41.4% 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. Norwood Financial has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years. Norwood Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

3.3% of Mizuho Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.1% of Norwood Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Mizuho Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.1% of Norwood Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Mizuho Financial Group and Norwood Financial”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mizuho Financial Group	$60.35 billion	2.01	$7.64 billion	$0.82	11.97
Norwood Financial	$136.15 million	2.90	$27.75 million	$3.09	11.73

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

Profitability

This table compares Mizuho Financial Group and Norwood Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mizuho Financial Group	17.15%	12.82%	0.49%
Norwood Financial	19.67%	13.53%	1.34%

Volatility and Risk

Mizuho Financial Group has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Norwood Financial has a beta of 0.55, indicating that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Norwood Financial beats Mizuho Financial Group on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mizuho Financial Group

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in banking, trust, securities, and other businesses related to financial services in Japan, the Americas, Europe, Asia/Oceania, and internationally. It operates through Retail & Business Banking Company, Corporate & Institutional Company, Global Corporate Company, Global Markets Company, Asset Management Company, and Others segments. The company provides deposit products; syndicated, housing, and card loans; business matching services; and advisory services related to overseas expansions, and mergers and acquisitions-related services. It also offers consulting services, including asset management and asset succession; payroll services; and sells lottery tickets issued by prefectures and ordinance-designated cities. In addition, it offers fund management, underwriting of equity and bonds, risk hedging products, etc. for corporate customers; solutions based on capital management, business strategy, and financial strategy; real estate services; advisory services and solutions, such as advice on proposals on various investment products to financial institutions; and financial services that include funding support and public bonds underwriting. Further, the company offers corporate finance and transaction banking srvices; sales and trading services; investment products; pension funds; and ALM and investment services, including stable capital raising and balance sheet management, as well as management of fixed income, equity, and other securities portfolios. Additionally, the company provides online banking, cash management solutions, currency transaction, trade finance, custody, yen correspondence settlement, and research and consulting services; trust, securitization and structured finance, and stock transfers; and private banking and information technology-related services. Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Norwood Financial

Norwood Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Wayne Bank that provides various banking products and services. The company accepts a range of deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing transaction accounts, and statement savings and money market accounts, as well as certificate of deposits. It also provides commercial loans comprising lines of credit, revolving credit, term loans, mortgages, secured lending products, and letter of credit facilities; municipal finance lending; construction loans for commercial construction projects and single-family residences; land loans; construction financing; consumer loans; mortgage lending to finance principal residences and second home dwellings; and indirect dealer financing of new and used automobiles, boats, and recreational vehicles. In addition, the company offers investment securities services; personal and business credit services; trust and investment products; and cash management, direct deposit, remote deposit capture, mobile deposit capture, automated clearing house activity, real estate settlement, and Internet and mobile banking services. Further, it engages in the annuity and mutual fund sale, and discount brokerage activities, as well as insurance agency business. The company serves consumers, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and municipalities. It operates branches in Northeastern Pennsylvania; and in Delaware, Sullivan, Ontario, Otsego, and Yates Counties, New York, as well as automated teller machines. Norwood Financial Corp. was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.