HSBC (HSBA) Competitors

HSBC (LON:HSBA) and Banco Santander (LON:BNC) are both large-cap financial services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, media sentiment, analyst recommendations and risk.

Is HSBA or BNC more profitable?

HSBC has a net margin of 34.63% compared to Banco Santander's net margin of 20.05%. Banco Santander's return on equity of 12.99% beat HSBC's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HSBC	34.63%	12.54%	0.80%
Banco Santander	20.05%	12.99%	0.73%

Does the media refer more to HSBA or BNC?

In the previous week, HSBC had 5 more articles in the media than Banco Santander. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for HSBC and 2 mentions for Banco Santander. Banco Santander's average media sentiment score of 0.26 beat HSBC's score of 0.01 indicating that Banco Santander is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
HSBC	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Banco Santander	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, HSBA or BNC?

HSBC has higher revenue and earnings than Banco Santander. HSBC is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Banco Santander, 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
HSBC	£83.82B	2.41	£29.03B	£103.98	8.72
Banco Santander	£70.85B	1.66	£14.20B	£63.81	10.05

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in HSBA or BNC?

45.8% of HSBC shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.0% of Banco Santander shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of HSBC shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Banco Santander shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, HSBA or BNC?

HSBC has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banco Santander has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer HSBA or BNC?

HSBC presently has a consensus price target of GBX 991.67, suggesting a potential upside of 9.40%. Given HSBC's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe HSBC is more favorable than Banco Santander.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HSBC	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Banco Santander	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Is HSBA or BNC a better dividend stock?

HSBC pays an annual dividend of GBX 48 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Banco Santander pays an annual dividend of GBX 17 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. HSBC pays out 46.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Banco Santander pays out 26.6% 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

HSBC beats Banco Santander on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.