Analyzing The Gabelli Equity Trust (NYSE:GAB) and John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO)

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) and The Gabelli Equity Trust (NYSE:GAB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, risk and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund and The Gabelli Equity Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A
The Gabelli Equity Trust	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.9%. The Gabelli Equity Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.2%.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

19.5% of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.2% of The Gabelli Equity Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of The Gabelli Equity Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund has a beta of 1.4, suggesting that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Gabelli Equity Trust has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund and The Gabelli Equity Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund	$142.41 million	4.55	N/A	N/A	N/A
The Gabelli Equity Trust	$203.01 million	7.98	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund and The Gabelli Equity Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund	0	0	0	1	4.00
The Gabelli Equity Trust	0	0	0	0	0.00

About John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC. It is co-managed by John Hancock Asset Management. The fund invests in the public equity markets across the globe. It seeks to invest in the stocks of companies operating across the financial services sector. The fund invests in companies across all market capitalizations. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P Composite 1500 Banks Index. The fund was formerly known as John Hancock Bank and Thrift Opportunity Fund. John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund was formed on August 23, 1994 and is domiciled in the United States.

About The Gabelli Equity Trust

The Gabelli Equity Trust Inc. is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched by GAMCO Investors, Inc. The fund is managed by Gabelli Funds, LLC. It invests in public equity markets of the United States. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It invests in preferred stock, convertible or exchangeable securities, and warrants and rights. The fund primarily invests in value stocks of companies across market capitalizations. It employs fundamental analysis with a bottom-up stock picking approach to create its portfolio. The fund seeks to benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P 500 Index, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite Index. The Gabelli Equity Trust Inc. was formed on August 21, 1986 and is domiciled in the United States.