Equitable (EQH) Competitors

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

Does the media favor MFC or EQH?

In the previous week, Equitable had 1 more articles in the media than Manulife Financial. MarketBeat recorded 21 mentions for Equitable and 20 mentions for Manulife Financial. Manulife Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.90 beat Equitable's score of 0.56 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	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Equitable	10 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders & institutionals believe in MFC or EQH?

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

Does the MarketBeat Community favor MFC or EQH?

Manulife Financial received 188 more outperform votes than Equitable when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 67.95% of users gave Manulife Financial an outperform vote while only 60.95% of users gave Equitable an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Manulife Financial	Outperform Votes 458 67.95%	Underperform Votes 216 32.05%
Equitable	Outperform Votes 270 60.95%	Underperform Votes 173 39.05%

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, 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	$48.71B	1.09	$4.05B	$2.07	14.85
Equitable	$10.53B	1.57	$1.30B	-$1.09	-48.30

Do analysts rate MFC or EQH?

Manulife Financial presently has a consensus target price of $37.50, suggesting a potential upside of 21.99%. Equitable has a consensus target price of $52.18, suggesting a potential downside of 0.89%. Given Manulife Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly 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)	5 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Equitable	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.82

Which has more risk and volatility, MFC or EQH?

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

Is MFC or EQH more profitable?

Manulife Financial has a net margin of 9.79% compared to Equitable's net margin of -2.64%. Equitable's return on equity of 76.47% beat Manulife Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Manulife Financial	9.79%	16.11%	0.77%
Equitable	-2.64%	76.47%	0.68%

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 4.0%. Equitable pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Manulife Financial pays out 59.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Equitable pays out -88.1% 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 raised 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.

Summary

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