Northern Trust (NTRS) Competitors

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) and Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) 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 more volatility and risk, FITB or NTRS?

Fifth Third Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northern Trust has a beta of 1.3, meaning that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FITB or NTRS 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
Fifth Third Bancorp	17.97%	13.31%	1.15%
Northern Trust	11.75%	14.06%	1.04%

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, FITB or NTRS?

Fifth Third Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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
Fifth Third Bancorp	$13.28B	2.27	$2.31B	$3.22	14.15
Northern Trust	$16.06B	1.54	$2.03B	$8.51	15.21

Does the media favor FITB or NTRS?

In the previous week, Fifth Third Bancorp had 25 more articles in the media than Northern Trust. MarketBeat recorded 44 mentions for Fifth Third Bancorp and 19 mentions for Northern Trust. Northern Trust's average media sentiment score of 1.51 beat Fifth Third Bancorp's score of 0.47 indicating that Northern Trust is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Fifth Third Bancorp	15 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Northern Trust	15 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Do analysts recommend FITB or NTRS?

Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $48.33, indicating a potential upside of 6.09%. Northern Trust has a consensus price target of $119.58, indicating a potential downside of 7.60%. Given Fifth Third Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Fifth Third Bancorp is more favorable than Northern Trust.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fifth Third Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.82
Northern Trust	3 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.93

Is FITB or NTRS a better dividend stock?

Fifth Third Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Northern Trust pays an annual dividend of $3.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Fifth Third Bancorp pays out 46.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Northern Trust pays out 37.6% 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 raised 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.

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

83.8% of Fifth Third Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.2% of Northern Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Fifth Third Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Northern Trust 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.

Summary

Fifth Third Bancorp beats Northern Trust on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.