Equitable (EQH) Competitors

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) and Equitable (NYSE:EQH) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, media sentiment, valuation, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, community ranking, earnings and institutional ownership.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in MFC or EQH?

52.6% of Manulife Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.7% of Equitable shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Manulife Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Equitable shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor MFC or EQH?

In the previous week, Manulife Financial had 16 more articles in the media than Equitable. MarketBeat recorded 36 mentions for Manulife Financial and 20 mentions for Equitable. Manulife Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.91 beat Equitable's score of 0.78 indicating that Manulife Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Manulife Financial	13 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	15 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Equitable	12 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings & valuation, MFC or EQH?

Manulife Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Equitable. Equitable is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Manulife Financial, 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
Manulife Financial	$38.90B	1.35	$4.05B	$2.07	14.67
Equitable	$12.44B	1.30	$1.31B	$3.82	13.46

Do analysts rate MFC or EQH?

Manulife Financial currently has a consensus price target of $45.50, suggesting a potential upside of 49.88%. Equitable has a consensus price target of $56.58, suggesting a potential upside of 10.01%. Given Manulife Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Manulife Financial is more favorable than Equitable.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Manulife Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Equitable	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.83

Which has more volatility and risk, MFC or EQH?

Manulife Financial has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equitable has a beta of 1.39, suggesting that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MFC or EQH a better dividend stock?

Manulife Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Equitable pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Manulife Financial pays out 59.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Equitable pays out 25.1% 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. Manulife Financial has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years. Manulife Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer MFC or EQH?

Manulife Financial received 184 more outperform votes than Equitable when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 68.00% of users gave Manulife Financial an outperform vote while only 61.38% of users gave Equitable an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Manulife Financial	Outperform Votes 459 68.00%	Underperform Votes 216 32.00%
Equitable	Outperform Votes 275 61.38%	Underperform Votes 173 38.62%

Is MFC or EQH more profitable?

Equitable has a net margin of 10.51% compared to Manulife Financial's net margin of 10.08%. Equitable's return on equity of 85.70% beat Manulife Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Manulife Financial	10.08%	16.15%	0.77%
Equitable	10.51%	85.70%	0.69%

Summary

Manulife Financial beats Equitable on 14 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.