Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) and Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.
Dividends
Apollo Global Management pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. Moelis & Company pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. 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. Moelis & Company pays out 112.2% 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 has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Moelis & Company has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Apollo Global Management is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Risk and Volatility
Apollo Global Management has a beta of 1.62, suggesting that its share price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Moelis & Company has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Apollo Global Management and Moelis & Company's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Apollo Global Management | N/A | 30.32% | 6.29% |
| Moelis & Company | 9.91% | 23.47% | 8.93% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Apollo Global Management and Moelis & Company's revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Apollo Global Management | $2.93 billion | 4.08 | $843.19 million | $2.71 | 19.03 |
| Moelis & Company | $746.53 million | 4.65 | $105.10 million | $1.96 | 27.66 |
Apollo Global Management has higher revenue and earnings than Moelis & Company. Apollo Global Management is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Moelis & Company, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Apollo Global Management and Moelis & Company, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Apollo Global Management | 0 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 2.75 |
| Moelis & Company | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1.89 |
Apollo Global Management currently has a consensus target price of $55.4286, suggesting a potential upside of 7.48%. Moelis & Company has a consensus target price of $44.8750, suggesting a potential downside of 17.24%. Given Apollo Global Management's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Apollo Global Management is more favorable than Moelis & Company.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
72.0% of Apollo Global Management shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.2% of Moelis & Company shares are held by institutional investors. 9.3% of Apollo Global Management shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.0% of Moelis & Company shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Apollo Global Management beats Moelis & Company on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
