SLM (SLM) Competitors

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) and SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, media sentiment, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Does the media prefer EWBC or SLM?

In the previous week, East West Bancorp had 10 more articles in the media than SLM. MarketBeat recorded 24 mentions for East West Bancorp and 14 mentions for SLM. East West Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.21 beat SLM's score of 0.98 indicating that East West Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
East West Bancorp	16 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
SLM	7 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, EWBC or SLM?

East West Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SLM has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in EWBC or SLM?

89.5% of East West Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.9% of SLM shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of East West Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of SLM shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has higher valuation and earnings, EWBC or SLM?

East West Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than SLM. East West Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SLM, 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
East West Bancorp	$4.53B	3.22	$1.17B	$8.56	12.38
SLM	$2.62B	2.49	$608.33M	$1.99	15.73

Is EWBC or SLM more profitable?

East West Bancorp has a net margin of 26.06% compared to SLM's net margin of 15.46%. SLM's return on equity of 21.93% beat East West Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
East West Bancorp	26.06%	15.09%	1.56%
SLM	15.46%	21.93%	1.49%

Do analysts rate EWBC or SLM?

East West Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $114.15, indicating a potential upside of 7.73%. SLM has a consensus target price of $35.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.79%. Given SLM's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SLM is more favorable than East West Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
East West Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.62
SLM	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.90

Is EWBC or SLM a better dividend stock?

East West Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. SLM pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. East West Bancorp pays out 28.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SLM pays out 26.1% 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. East West Bancorp has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years and SLM has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. East West Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

East West Bancorp beats SLM on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.