Head to Head Comparison: Bank of Communications (OTCMKTS:BCMXY) versus Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN)
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyBanco Santander (NYSE:SAN – Get Free Report) and Bank of Communications (OTCMKTS:BCMXY – Get Free Report) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.
Risk & Volatility
Banco Santander has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank of Communications has a beta of -0.17, indicating that its stock price is 117% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Banco Santander pays an annual dividend of $0.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Bank of Communications pays an annual dividend of $0.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Banco Santander pays out 18.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank of Communications pays out 22.2% 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.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Banco Santander and Bank of Communications”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Banco Santander | $66.36 billion | 2.45 | $15.95 billion | $1.01 | 10.82 |
| Bank of Communications | $75.42 billion | 0.82 | $13.02 billion | $3.87 | 5.35 |
Banco Santander has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Bank of Communications. Bank of Communications is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Banco Santander, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
9.2% of Banco Santander shares are held by institutional investors. 9.5% of Banco Santander shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings for Banco Santander and Bank of Communications, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Banco Santander | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2.56 |
| Bank of Communications | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Profitability
This table compares Banco Santander and Bank of Communications’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Banco Santander | 18.85% | 12.14% | 0.73% |
| Bank of Communications | 18.19% | 7.70% | 0.62% |
Summary
Banco Santander beats Bank of Communications on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Banco Santander
Banco Santander, S.A. provides various financial services worldwide. The company operates through Retail Banking, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, Wealth Management & Insurance, and PagoNxt segments. It offers demand and time deposits, mutual funds, and current and savings accounts; mortgages, consumer finance, loans, and various financing solutions; and project finance, debt capital markets, global transaction banking, and corporate finance services. The company also provides asset management and private banking services; and insurance products. In addition, it offers corporate and investment banking services; and digital payment solutions. Further, it offers online banking and financial services to retail, business, institutional, corporate, private banking and university customers and clients. The company was formerly known as Banco Santander Central Hispano SA and changed its name to Banco Santander, S.A. in February 2007. Banco Santander, S.A. was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.
About Bank of Communications
Bank of Communications Co., Ltd. provides commercial banking products and services in China. The company offers savings deposit products, including demand deposits, lump-sum deposits and withdrawal, time deposit of small savings for lump-sum withdrawal, interest withdrawal on principal deposited, time-demand deposit, call deposit, swap management, and education deposit; personal certificate of deposit; salary financing A; and foreign currency deposit. It also provides credit, quasi-credit, and debit cards; new housing and second-hand mortgage loans and unsecured personal loans; personal wealth management advisor services; and precious metal and commodity trading services. In addition, the company offers corporate structured deposit and corporate certificate of deposit; corporate cash management; industrial chain finance program comprising prepayment financing, inventory financing, accounts receivable financing and accounts payable financing; syndicated loans; corporation overdraft; investment banking services; and offshore banking services, such as repayment financing, inventory financing, accounts receivable financing and accounts payable financing, and forex currencies. Further, it provides bond account activation, bond distribution, and transaction services; related bond escrow and settlement, pledge registration, and principal and interest payment services; training and consulting services for cooperative banks; cross-border inter-bank payments system services; consignment sales of precious metal products; bond underwriting distribution; third party bond depository services; bank derivatives transfer; b-share transfer; bankfutures transfer; standard warehouse warrant pledged financing; institutional investment consulting, wealth management, and insurance services; and clearing and settlement services for future markets. The company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China.