Equitable (EQH) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility and risk, EQH or MFC?

Equitable has a beta of 1.39, indicating that its share price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Manulife Financial has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer EQH or MFC?

In the previous week, Equitable had 2 more articles in the media than Manulife Financial. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Equitable and 13 mentions for Manulife Financial. Equitable's average media sentiment score of 1.25 beat Manulife Financial's score of 1.17 indicating that Equitable is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Equitable	12 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Manulife Financial	10 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, EQH or MFC?

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
Equitable	$12.44B	1.34	$1.31B	$3.82	14.20
Manulife Financial	$45.58B	1.19	$4.05B	$2.07	15.19

Is EQH or MFC 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
Equitable	10.51%	85.70%	0.69%
Manulife Financial	10.08%	15.98%	0.76%

Is EQH or MFC a better dividend stock?

Equitable pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Manulife Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Equitable pays out 25.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Manulife Financial pays out 58.5% 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 12 consecutive years. Manulife Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in EQH or MFC?

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

Do analysts prefer EQH or MFC?

Equitable currently has a consensus target price of $57.75, suggesting a potential upside of 6.44%. Manulife Financial has a consensus target price of $45.50, suggesting a potential upside of 44.70%. Given Manulife Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Manulife Financial is more favorable than Equitable.

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

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer EQH or MFC?

Manulife Financial received 181 more outperform votes than Equitable when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 68.05% of users gave Manulife Financial an outperform vote while only 61.73% of users gave Equitable an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Equitable	Outperform Votes 279 61.73%	Underperform Votes 173 38.27%
Manulife Financial	Outperform Votes 460 68.05%	Underperform Votes 216 31.95%

Summary

Equitable and Manulife Financial tied by winning 11 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.