Fairfax Financial (FFH) Competitors

Fairfax Financial (TSE:FFH) and Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) are both large-cap financial services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Does the media favor FFH or BMO?

In the previous week, Fairfax Financial had 19 more articles in the media than Bank of Montreal. MarketBeat recorded 21 mentions for Fairfax Financial and 2 mentions for Bank of Montreal. Bank of Montreal's average media sentiment score of 0.58 beat Fairfax Financial's score of 0.29 indicating that Bank of Montreal is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Fairfax Financial	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Bank of Montreal	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, FFH or BMO?

Bank of Montreal has higher revenue and earnings than Fairfax Financial. Fairfax Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bank of Montreal, 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
Fairfax Financial	C$21.14B	1.82	C$2.94B	C$261.16	9.20
Bank of Montreal	C$53.67B	2.06	C$7.28B	C$10.13	15.10

Do insiders & institutionals believe in FFH or BMO?

38.0% of Fairfax Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.3% of Bank of Montreal shares are held by institutional investors. 3.8% of Fairfax Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Bank of Montreal shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts rate FFH or BMO?

Fairfax Financial presently has a consensus price target of C$2,721.43, suggesting a potential upside of 13.31%. Bank of Montreal has a consensus price target of C$145.69, suggesting a potential downside of 4.73%. Given Fairfax Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Fairfax Financial is more favorable than Bank of Montreal.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fairfax Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Bank of Montreal	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.38

Which has more volatility and risk, FFH or BMO?

Fairfax Financial has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank of Montreal has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FFH or BMO more profitable?

Fairfax Financial has a net margin of 13.90% compared to Bank of Montreal's net margin of 13.57%. Fairfax Financial's return on equity of 17.43% beat Bank of Montreal's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fairfax Financial	13.90%	17.43%	4.27%
Bank of Montreal	13.57%	9.04%	0.50%

Is FFH or BMO a better dividend stock?

Fairfax Financial pays an annual dividend of C$20.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Bank of Montreal pays an annual dividend of C$6.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Fairfax Financial pays out 7.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank of Montreal pays out 61.2% 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.

Summary

Fairfax Financial and Bank of Montreal tied by winning 9 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.