Critical Comparison: KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB) and First Republic Bank (OTCMKTS:FRCB)

KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB) and First Republic Bank (OTCMKTS:FRCB) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Volatility and Risk

KB Financial Group has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Republic Bank has a beta of 1.73, suggesting that its stock price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for KB Financial Group and First Republic Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KB Financial Group	0	0	0	0	N/A
First Republic Bank	0	0	0	0	N/A

Profitability

This table compares KB Financial Group and First Republic Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KB Financial Group	11.65%	6.97%	0.57%
First Republic Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares KB Financial Group and First Republic Bank’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KB Financial Group	$21,985.22 billion	0.00	$3.59 billion	$8.01	8.27
First Republic Bank	$6.75 billion	0.00	$1.67 billion	N/A	N/A

KB Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than First Republic Bank.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

11.5% of KB Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of First Republic Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 69.0% of KB Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of First Republic Bank shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

KB Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $1.83 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. First Republic Bank pays an annual dividend of 1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 6,750.0%. KB Financial Group pays out 22.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

KB Financial Group beats First Republic Bank on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About KB Financial Group

KB Financial Group Inc. provides a range of banking and related financial services to consumers and corporations in South Korea, the United States, New Zealand, China, Cambodia, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and internationally. The company operates through Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Other Banking Services, Credit Card, Securities, Life Insurance, and Non-Life Insurance segments. It offers loans, deposit products, and other related financial products and services to large, small, medium-sized enterprises, and small office/home office, as well as individuals and households; investment banking, and brokerage and supporting services; life insurance products; non-life insurance products, including fire, maritime, injury, technology, liability, package, title, guarantee, other special type insurances, automobile, long-term nonlife, property damage, injury, driver, savings, illness, nursing, pension, and others; and credit sale, cash service, card loan, and other supporting services. The company also engages in securities and derivatives trading, funding, and other supporting activities. In addition, it offers foreign exchange transaction; financial investment; credit card and installment financing; financial leasing; auto Installment finance; real estate trust management; capital and collective investment; collection of receivables or credit investigation; software advisory, development, and supply; microfinance; investment advisory; claim; management; savings banking; information and communication; e-commerce; and general advisory services. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

About First Republic Bank

As of May 1, 2023, First Republic Bank went out of business. Previously, First Republic Bank provided private banking, private business banking, and private wealth management services to clients in metropolitan areas in the United States. The company was founded in 1985 and was headquartered in San Francisco, California. First Republic Bank now trades on OTCPK.