Equitable (EQH) Competitors

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

Which has more risk and volatility, MFC or EQH?

Manulife Financial has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equitable has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its share price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MFC or EQH more profitable?

Manulife Financial has a net margin of 9.58% compared to Equitable's net margin of 8.50%. Equitable's return on equity of 79.05% beat Manulife Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Manulife Financial	9.58%	15.84%	0.75%
Equitable	8.50%	79.05%	0.67%

Does the media favor MFC or EQH?

In the previous week, Equitable had 1 more articles in the media than Manulife Financial. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Equitable and 9 mentions for Manulife Financial. Equitable's average media sentiment score of 1.79 beat Manulife Financial's score of 1.35 indicating that Equitable is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Manulife Financial	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Equitable	10 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in MFC or EQH?

52.6% of Manulife Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.7% of Equitable shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Manulife Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Equitable shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is MFC or EQH a better dividend stock?

Manulife Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Equitable pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Manulife Financial pays out 67.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Equitable pays out 29.3% 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. Manulife Financial has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years and Equitable has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Manulife Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts rate MFC or EQH?

Manulife Financial presently has a consensus price target of $48.50, suggesting a potential upside of 53.38%. Equitable has a consensus price target of $62.64, suggesting a potential upside of 12.51%. Given Manulife Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Manulife Financial is more favorable than Equitable.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Manulife Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Equitable	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.91

Which has higher valuation & earnings, MFC or EQH?

Manulife Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Equitable. Equitable is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Manulife Financial, 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
Manulife Financial	$38.90B	1.39	$4.11B	$1.91	16.55
Equitable	$12.44B	1.36	$1.31B	$3.68	15.13

Summary

Manulife Financial beats Equitable on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.