LPL Financial (LPLA) Competitors

Interactive Brokers Group (NASDAQ:IBKR) and LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, media sentiment, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, IBKR or LPLA?

LPL Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Interactive Brokers Group. LPL Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Interactive Brokers 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
Interactive Brokers Group	$5.19B	23.02	$755M	$1.94	36.27
LPL Financial	$12.39B	2.03	$1.06B	$14.62	21.53

Does the media favor IBKR or LPLA?

In the previous week, Interactive Brokers Group had 16 more articles in the media than LPL Financial. MarketBeat recorded 34 mentions for Interactive Brokers Group and 18 mentions for LPL Financial. Interactive Brokers Group's average media sentiment score of 1.09 beat LPL Financial's score of 0.95 indicating that Interactive Brokers Group is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Interactive Brokers Group	20 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
LPL Financial	8 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, IBKR or LPLA?

Interactive Brokers Group has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LPL Financial has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend IBKR or LPLA?

Interactive Brokers Group currently has a consensus price target of $64.47, indicating a potential downside of 8.37%. LPL Financial has a consensus price target of $395.77, indicating a potential upside of 25.75%. Given LPL Financial's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe LPL Financial is more favorable than Interactive Brokers Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Interactive Brokers Group	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.78
LPL Financial	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in IBKR or LPLA?

23.8% of Interactive Brokers Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.7% of LPL Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.0% of Interactive Brokers Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of LPL Financial shares are owned 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.

Is IBKR or LPLA more profitable?

Interactive Brokers Group has a net margin of 9.78% compared to LPL Financial's net margin of 7.91%. LPL Financial's return on equity of 39.80% beat Interactive Brokers Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Interactive Brokers Group	9.78%	4.92%	0.53%
LPL Financial	7.91%	39.80%	9.76%

Is IBKR or LPLA a better dividend stock?

Interactive Brokers Group pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. LPL Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Interactive Brokers Group pays out 16.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. LPL Financial pays out 8.2% 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. Interactive Brokers Group has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Interactive Brokers Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Interactive Brokers Group beats LPL Financial on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.