Northern Trust (NTRS) Competitors

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) and Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, media sentiment, profitability, valuation, dividends and earnings.

Which has more risk & volatility, NTRS or FITB?

Northern Trust has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fifth Third Bancorp has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings & valuation, NTRS or FITB?

Fifth Third Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Northern Trust. Fifth Third Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Northern Trust, 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
Northern Trust	$16.06B	1.48	$2.03B	$8.51	14.66
Fifth Third Bancorp	$13.28B	2.07	$2.31B	$3.22	12.79

Is NTRS or FITB a better dividend stock?

Northern Trust pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Fifth Third Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Northern Trust pays out 35.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fifth Third Bancorp pays out 46.0% 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. Fifth Third Bancorp has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Fifth Third Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is NTRS or FITB more profitable?

Fifth Third Bancorp has a net margin of 17.97% compared to Northern Trust's net margin of 11.75%. Northern Trust's return on equity of 14.06% beat Fifth Third Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northern Trust	11.75%	14.06%	1.04%
Fifth Third Bancorp	17.97%	13.31%	1.15%

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in NTRS or FITB?

83.2% of Northern Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.8% of Fifth Third Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Northern Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Fifth Third Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend NTRS or FITB?

Northern Trust presently has a consensus target price of $116.58, indicating a potential downside of 6.53%. Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus target price of $47.80, indicating a potential upside of 16.10%. Given Fifth Third Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Fifth Third Bancorp is more favorable than Northern Trust.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northern Trust	3 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.92
Fifth Third Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.82

Does the media favor NTRS or FITB?

In the previous week, Northern Trust had 4 more articles in the media than Fifth Third Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 20 mentions for Northern Trust and 16 mentions for Fifth Third Bancorp. Northern Trust's average media sentiment score of 1.54 beat Fifth Third Bancorp's score of 1.51 indicating that Northern Trust is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Northern Trust	18 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Fifth Third Bancorp	14 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Summary

Fifth Third Bancorp beats Northern Trust on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.