Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) Competitors

Banco Santander (LON:BNC) and Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) are both large-cap financial services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Which has more risk & volatility, BNC or LLOY?

Banco Santander has a beta of 1.32, suggesting that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lloyds Banking Group has a beta of 1.23, suggesting that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend BNC or LLOY?

Lloyds Banking Group has a consensus target price of GBX 64.25, suggesting a potential downside of 15.90%. Given Lloyds Banking Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Lloyds Banking Group is more favorable than Banco Santander.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banco Santander	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Lloyds Banking Group	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Is BNC or LLOY more profitable?

Banco Santander has a net margin of 20.05% compared to Lloyds Banking Group's net margin of 16.66%. Banco Santander's return on equity of 12.99% beat Lloyds Banking Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banco Santander	20.05%	12.99%	0.73%
Lloyds Banking Group	16.66%	11.22%	0.57%

Which has better earnings and valuation, BNC or LLOY?

Banco Santander has higher revenue and earnings than Lloyds Banking Group. Lloyds Banking Group 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
Banco Santander	£70.85B	1.60	£14.20B	£63.81	9.70
Lloyds Banking Group	£28.75B	1.61	£4.79B	£7.91	9.66

Is BNC or LLOY a better dividend stock?

Banco Santander pays an annual dividend of GBX 17 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Lloyds Banking Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 3 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Banco Santander pays out 26.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lloyds Banking Group pays out 37.9% 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.

Does the media prefer BNC or LLOY?

In the previous week, Lloyds Banking Group had 16 more articles in the media than Banco Santander. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for Lloyds Banking Group and 2 mentions for Banco Santander. Lloyds Banking Group's average media sentiment score of 0.60 beat Banco Santander's score of -0.43 indicating that Lloyds Banking Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Banco Santander	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Lloyds Banking Group	7 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders believe in BNC or LLOY?

32.0% of Banco Santander shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.2% of Lloyds Banking Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Banco Santander shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Lloyds Banking Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Banco Santander beats Lloyds Banking Group on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.