Analyzing WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) and DBS Group (OTCMKTS:DBSDY)

DBS Group (OTCMKTS:DBSDY) and WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

DBS Group pays an annual dividend of $6.95 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. WaFd pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. WaFd pays out 40.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. WaFd has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Risk & Volatility

DBS Group has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WaFd has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.2% of DBS Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.7% of WaFd shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of WaFd shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares DBS Group and WaFd’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
DBS Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
WaFd	12.66%	8.78%	0.82%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares DBS Group and WaFd”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
DBS Group	$29.04 billion	3.42	$8.45 billion	N/A	N/A
WaFd	$734.08 million	3.28	$200.04 million	$2.65	11.34

DBS Group has higher revenue and earnings than WaFd.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for DBS Group and WaFd, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
DBS Group	0	0	0	1	4.00
WaFd	0	4	0	0	2.00

WaFd has a consensus price target of $30.50, suggesting a potential upside of 1.50%. Given WaFd’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe WaFd is more favorable than DBS Group.

Summary

WaFd beats DBS Group on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About DBS Group

DBS Group Holdings Ltd provides commercial banking and financial services in Singapore, Hong Kong, rest of Greater China, South and Southeast Asia, and internationally. The company’s Consumer Banking/Wealth Management segment offers banking and related financial services, including current and savings accounts, fixed deposits, loans and home finance, cards, payments, investment, and insurance products for individual customers. Its Institutional Banking segment provides financial services and products for bank and non-bank financial institutions, government-linked companies, large corporates, and small and medium sized businesses. Its products and services comprise short-term working capital financing and specialized lending; cash management, trade finance, and securities and fiduciary services; treasury and markets products; and corporate finance and advisory banking, as well as capital markets solutions. The company’s Treasury Markets segment is involved in the structuring, market-making, and trading in a range of treasury products. DBS Group Holdings Ltd was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Singapore.

About WaFd

WaFd, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts. It also provides single-family dwellings, construction, land acquisition and development, consumer lot, multi-family residential, commercial real estate, home equity, business, and consumer loans, as well as commercial and industrial loans. In addition, the company offers insurance brokerage services, such as individual and business insurance policies; holds and markets real estate properties; and debit and credit cards, as well as acts as the trustee. It serves consumers, mid-sized and large businesses, and owners and developers of commercial real estate. The company was formerly known as Washington Federal, Inc. and changed its name to WaFd, Inc in September 2023. WaFd, Inc was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.