Barclays (BCS) Competitors

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) and Barclays (NYSE:BCS) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk and media sentiment.

Is HSBC or BCS a better dividend stock?

HSBC pays an annual dividend of $1.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Barclays pays an annual dividend of $0.55 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. HSBC pays out 36.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Barclays pays out 27.9% 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.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in HSBC or BCS?

1.5% of HSBC shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.4% of Barclays shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of HSBC shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Barclays shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor HSBC or BCS?

In the previous week, Barclays had 55 more articles in the media than HSBC. MarketBeat recorded 98 mentions for Barclays and 43 mentions for HSBC. HSBC's average media sentiment score of 0.41 beat Barclays' score of 0.18 indicating that HSBC is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
HSBC	15 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	17 Neutral mention(s)	5 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Barclays	12 Very Positive mention(s)	13 Positive mention(s)	55 Neutral mention(s)	14 Negative mention(s)	4 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has higher earnings and valuation, HSBC or BCS?

HSBC has higher revenue and earnings than Barclays. Barclays is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HSBC, 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
HSBC	$141.75B	1.53	$23.98B	$5.45	11.37
Barclays	$34.23B	1.91	$8.06B	$1.97	9.39

Do analysts recommend HSBC or BCS?

HSBC currently has a consensus price target of $63.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.69%. Given HSBC's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe HSBC is more favorable than Barclays.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HSBC	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Barclays	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Which has more volatility and risk, HSBC or BCS?

HSBC has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Barclays has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is HSBC or BCS more profitable?

Barclays has a net margin of 21.27% compared to HSBC's net margin of 14.55%. HSBC's return on equity of 12.55% beat Barclays' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HSBC	14.55%	12.55%	0.81%
Barclays	21.27%	8.04%	0.38%

Summary

HSBC beats Barclays on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.