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 superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, media sentiment, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Which has more volatility and risk, FFH or BMO?

Fairfax Financial has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank of Montreal has a beta of 1.16, meaning 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 4.0%. 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.

Do analysts prefer FFH or BMO?

Fairfax Financial currently has a consensus target price of C$2,535.71, indicating a potential upside of 4.34%. Bank of Montreal has a consensus target price of C$145.69, indicating a potential downside of 5.27%. Given Fairfax Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly 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)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Bank of Montreal	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.38

Which has better valuation & earnings, 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	1.84	C$2.94B	C$261.16	9.31
Bank of Montreal	C$53.67B	2.08	C$7.28B	C$10.13	15.18

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

Does the media refer more to FFH or BMO?

In the previous week, Bank of Montreal had 6 more articles in the media than Fairfax Financial. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Bank of Montreal and 2 mentions for Fairfax Financial. Fairfax Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.69 beat Bank of Montreal's score of 0.58 indicating that Fairfax Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

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

Summary

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