Royal Bank of Canada (RY) Competitors

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, community ranking, valuation, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Which has more volatility and risk, BAC or RY?

Bank of America has a beta of 1.3, indicating that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Royal Bank of Canada has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of BAC or RY?

70.7% of Bank of America shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 45.3% of Royal Bank of Canada shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Bank of America shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is BAC or RY more profitable?

Bank of America has a net margin of 14.10% compared to Royal Bank of Canada's net margin of 12.08%. Royal Bank of Canada's return on equity of 15.26% beat Bank of America's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of America	14.10%	10.29%	0.84%
Royal Bank of Canada	12.08%	15.26%	0.84%

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer BAC or RY?

Bank of America received 1303 more outperform votes than Royal Bank of Canada when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.69% of users gave Bank of America an outperform vote while only 53.75% of users gave Royal Bank of Canada an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Bank of America	Outperform Votes 2156 64.69%	Underperform Votes 1177 35.31%
Royal Bank of Canada	Outperform Votes 853 53.75%	Underperform Votes 734 46.25%

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, BAC or RY?

Bank of America has higher revenue and earnings than Royal Bank of Canada. Bank of America is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Royal Bank of Canada, 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
Bank of America	$103.44B	3.28	$27.13B	$3.36	13.42
Royal Bank of Canada	$62.13B	2.91	$11.92B	$9.00	14.26

Does the media favor BAC or RY?

In the previous week, Bank of America had 51 more articles in the media than Royal Bank of Canada. MarketBeat recorded 95 mentions for Bank of America and 44 mentions for Royal Bank of Canada. Bank of America's average media sentiment score of 1.04 beat Royal Bank of Canada's score of 0.70 indicating that Bank of America is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Bank of America	53 Very Positive mention(s)	24 Positive mention(s)	15 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Royal Bank of Canada	12 Very Positive mention(s)	9 Positive mention(s)	21 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is BAC or RY a better dividend stock?

Bank of America pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Royal Bank of Canada pays an annual dividend of $4.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Bank of America pays out 31.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Royal Bank of Canada pays out 49.8% 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. Bank of America has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years and Royal Bank of Canada has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Royal Bank of Canada is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts rate BAC or RY?

Bank of America presently has a consensus target price of $47.69, indicating a potential upside of 5.72%. Royal Bank of Canada has a consensus target price of $193.00, indicating a potential upside of 50.42%. Given Royal Bank of Canada's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Royal Bank of Canada is more favorable than Bank of America.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of America	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	18 Buy rating(s)	4 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.89
Royal Bank of Canada	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.88

Summary

Bank of America beats Royal Bank of Canada on 15 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.