DNB Bank ASA (OTCMKTS:DNBBY) and Société Générale Société anonyme (OTCMKTS:SCGLY) Head-To-Head Contrast

Société Générale Société anonyme (OTCMKTS:SCGLY) and DNB Bank ASA (OTCMKTS:DNBBY) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Société Générale Société anonyme and DNB Bank ASA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Société Générale Société anonyme	9.04%	3.31%	0.16%
DNB Bank ASA	18.94%	14.24%	1.05%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Société Générale Société anonyme and DNB Bank ASA, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Société Générale Société anonyme	0	3	0	0	2.00
DNB Bank ASA	0	0	0	0	N/A

Dividends

Société Générale Société anonyme pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. DNB Bank ASA pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Société Générale Société anonyme pays out 25.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. DNB Bank ASA pays out 43.8% 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.

Risk and Volatility

Société Générale Société anonyme has a beta of 1.44, indicating that its share price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DNB Bank ASA has a beta of 1.31, indicating that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Société Générale Société anonyme and DNB Bank ASA”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Société Générale Société anonyme	$27.17 billion	0.72	$2.70 billion	$0.47	10.43
DNB Bank ASA	$17.13 billion	1.83	$3.74 billion	$2.42	8.34

DNB Bank ASA has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Société Générale Société anonyme. DNB Bank ASA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Société Générale Société anonyme, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

1.0% of Société Générale Société anonyme shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

DNB Bank ASA beats Société Générale Société anonyme on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Société Générale Société anonyme

Société Générale Société anonyme provides banking and financial services to individuals, corporates, and institutional clients in Europe and internationally. It operates through French Retail Banking, International Retail Banking & Financial Services, and Global Banking and Investor Solutions. It offers retail banking services, such as consumer credit, vehicle leasing and fleet management, online banking, wealth management, and equipment and vendor finance services; and insurance products, including home, vehicle, family, health, and mortgage insurance. The company also provides corporate and investment banking, securities, business consulting, consumer finance, advisory and financing, and asset management and private banking services. In addition, it offers brokerage, cash management, payment, factoring/reverse factoring, export financing, trade finance, cash clearing and correspondent banking, and receivables and supply chain financing services. Société Générale Société anonyme was incorporated in 1864 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

About DNB Bank ASA

DNB Bank ASA provides financial services for individual and business customers in Norway and internationally. The company offers savings, current, and pension accounts; fixed rate and security deposits; home and cabin mortgages, car and consumer loans, business loans, and refinancing; car, house, home contents, travel, personal, and non-life insurance product; payment services; and online and mobile banking services, as well as cards. It also provides overdraft facilities; leasing services; factoring, supply chain, and receivable purchase financing services; bank guarantee, secure trading, documentary collection, and letter of credit services; investment banking services, such as mergers and acquisition, equity and debt capital market, shares and securities, mutual funds and trading, and bonds and commodities; and private financing, as well as equity trading, foreign exchange, interest rates, and risk advisory services. In addition, the company offers treasury management, working capital, trade finance, auto lease and equipment financing, and corporate finance services, as well as act as an estate agents. DNB Bank ASA was founded in 1822 and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.