Bank of Ireland Group (BIRG) Competitors

Bank of Ireland Group (LON:BIRG) and Close Brothers Group (LON:CBG) are both small-cap financial services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, community ranking, profitability, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in BIRG or CBG?

Close Brothers Group received 382 more outperform votes than Bank of Ireland Group when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 77.22% of users gave Bank of Ireland Group an outperform vote while only 60.03% of users gave Close Brothers Group an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Bank of Ireland Group	Outperform Votes 61 77.22%	Underperform Votes 18 22.78%
Close Brothers Group	Outperform Votes 443 60.03%	Underperform Votes 295 39.97%

Do insiders and institutionals believe in BIRG or CBG?

60.6% of Bank of Ireland Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.3% of Close Brothers Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Bank of Ireland Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Close Brothers Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more risk & volatility, BIRG or CBG?

Bank of Ireland Group has a beta of 1.15, suggesting that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Close Brothers Group has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is BIRG or CBG more profitable?

Bank of Ireland Group has a net margin of 38.50% compared to Close Brothers Group's net margin of 10.83%. Bank of Ireland Group's return on equity of 13.14% beat Close Brothers Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of Ireland Group	38.50%	13.14%	1.03%
Close Brothers Group	10.83%	5.76%	0.73%

Does the media refer more to BIRG or CBG?

In the previous week, Bank of Ireland Group had 1 more articles in the media than Close Brothers Group. MarketBeat recorded 1 mentions for Bank of Ireland Group and 0 mentions for Close Brothers Group. Bank of Ireland Group's average media sentiment score of 0.32 beat Close Brothers Group's score of 0.00 indicating that Bank of Ireland Group is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Bank of Ireland Group	Neutral
Close Brothers Group	Neutral

Do analysts recommend BIRG or CBG?

Close Brothers Group has a consensus price target of GBX 556.60, suggesting a potential upside of 128.30%. Given Close Brothers Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Close Brothers Group is more favorable than Bank of Ireland Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of Ireland Group	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Close Brothers Group	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Is BIRG or CBG a better dividend stock?

Bank of Ireland Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 70 per share and has a dividend yield of 773.2%. Close Brothers Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 68 per share and has a dividend yield of 27.9%. Bank of Ireland Group pays out 4,761.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Close Brothers Group pays out 11,333.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Bank of Ireland Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has better earnings & valuation, BIRG or CBG?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank of Ireland Group	£4.22B	0.02	£1.54B	£1.47	6.16
Close Brothers Group	£926.80M	0.40	£89.30M	£0.60	406.33

Summary

Bank of Ireland Group beats Close Brothers Group on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.