The Blackstone Group (NYSE:BX) and Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and profitability.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
59.8% of The Blackstone Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.0% of Apollo Global Management shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of The Blackstone Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.3% of Apollo Global Management shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares The Blackstone Group and Apollo Global Management's revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| The Blackstone Group | $7.34 billion | 6.15 | $2.05 billion | $2.31 | 28.58 |
| Apollo Global Management | $2.93 billion | 3.92 | $843.19 million | $2.71 | 18.29 |
The Blackstone Group has higher revenue and earnings than Apollo Global Management. Apollo Global Management is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Blackstone Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
The Blackstone Group has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apollo Global Management has a beta of 1.62, suggesting that its stock price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for The Blackstone Group and Apollo Global Management, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| The Blackstone Group | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 2.67 |
| Apollo Global Management | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 2.64 |
The Blackstone Group presently has a consensus price target of $66.8636, suggesting a potential upside of 1.28%. Apollo Global Management has a consensus price target of $53.0909, suggesting a potential upside of 7.12%. Given Apollo Global Management's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Apollo Global Management is more favorable than The Blackstone Group.
Profitability
This table compares The Blackstone Group and Apollo Global Management's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| The Blackstone Group | N/A | 15.06% | 6.96% |
| Apollo Global Management | N/A | 30.32% | 6.29% |
Dividends
The Blackstone Group pays an annual dividend of $3.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Apollo Global Management pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. The Blackstone Group pays out 166.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Apollo Global Management pays out 88.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. The Blackstone Group has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Apollo Global Management has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Summary
Apollo Global Management beats The Blackstone Group on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
