Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) and Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Dividends
Ameriprise Financial pays an annual dividend of $4.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Fidus Investment pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.5%. Ameriprise Financial pays out 25.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fidus Investment pays out 86.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ameriprise Financial has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years and Fidus Investment has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Ameriprise Financial and Fidus Investment's gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Ameriprise Financial | $12.97 billion | 2.23 | $1.89 billion | $16.10 | 15.40 |
Fidus Investment | $77.11 million | 5.27 | $48.47 million | $1.44 | 11.54 |
Ameriprise Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Fidus Investment. Fidus Investment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ameriprise Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
83.1% of Ameriprise Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.9% of Fidus Investment shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Ameriprise Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Fidus Investment shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Ameriprise Financial and Fidus Investment's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Ameriprise Financial | 15.16% | 33.79% | 1.38% |
Fidus Investment | 26.80% | 9.15% | 4.66% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Ameriprise Financial and Fidus Investment, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
Ameriprise Financial | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2.89 |
Fidus Investment | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3.00 |
Ameriprise Financial presently has a consensus target price of $212.20, suggesting a potential downside of 14.31%. Fidus Investment has a consensus target price of $15.40, suggesting a potential downside of 7.34%. Given Fidus Investment's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Fidus Investment is more favorable than Ameriprise Financial.
Risk & Volatility
Ameriprise Financial has a beta of 1.74, meaning that its stock price is 74% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fidus Investment has a beta of 1.89, meaning that its stock price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Ameriprise Financial beats Fidus Investment on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.