Critical Comparison: Merriman (OTCMKTS:MERR) and The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC)

Merriman (OTCMKTS:MERR) and The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

83.5% of The PNC Financial Services Group shares are held by institutional investors. 63.0% of Merriman shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of The PNC Financial Services Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Merriman and The PNC Financial Services Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Merriman	0	0	0	0	0.00
The PNC Financial Services Group	1	6	15	1	2.70

The PNC Financial Services Group has a consensus price target of $218.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.03%. Given The PNC Financial Services Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe The PNC Financial Services Group is more favorable than Merriman.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Merriman and The PNC Financial Services Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Merriman	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
The PNC Financial Services Group	$34.44 billion	2.26	$5.89 billion	$15.48	12.80

The PNC Financial Services Group has higher revenue and earnings than Merriman.

Profitability

This table compares Merriman and The PNC Financial Services Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Merriman	N/A	N/A	N/A
The PNC Financial Services Group	19.30%	11.47%	1.16%

Summary

The PNC Financial Services Group beats Merriman on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Merriman

Merriman Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary, Merriman Capital, Inc., provides capital market advisory and research, corporate, and investment banking services primarily in the United States and Canada. The company's investment banking services include corporate financing services, such as initial public offerings, secondary offerings, and private placements services; and strategic advisory services comprise transaction-specific advice regarding mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, and privatizations, as well as general strategic advice. It also offers institutional brokerage services, including institutional sales trading and equity execution, and options execution services to institutional clients. In addition, the company executes securities transactions for money managers, mutual funds, hedge funds, insurance companies, and pension and profit-sharing plans; and provides integrated research and trading solutions, as well as capital markets advisory services. It primarily serves institutional investors and corporate clients. The company was formerly known as Merriman Curhan Ford Group, Inc. and changed its name to Merriman Holdings, Inc. in August 2010. Merriman Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About The PNC Financial Services Group

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. operates as a diversified financial services company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Retail Banking, Corporate & Institutional Banking, and Asset Management Group segments. The company's Retail Banking segment offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposit; residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, auto loans, credit cards, education loans, and personal and small business loans and lines of credit; and brokerage, insurance, and investment and cash management services. This segment serves consumer and small business customers through a network of branches, digital channels, ATMs, and through phone-based customer contact centers. Its Corporate & Institutional Banking segment provides secured and unsecured loans, letters of credit, and equipment leases; cash and investment management services, receivables and disbursement management services, funds transfer services, international payment services, and access to online/mobile information management and reporting; securities underwriting, loan syndications, customer-related trading, and mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets advisory related services; and commercial loan servicing and technology solutions. It serves mid-sized and large corporations, and government and not-for-profit entities. The company's Asset Management Group segment offers investment and retirement planning, customized investment management, credit and cash management solutions, and trust management and administration services for high net worth and ultra high net worth individuals, and their families; and multi-generational family planning services for ultra high net worth individuals and their families. It also provides outsourced chief investment officer, custody, private real estate, cash and fixed income client solutions, and retirement plan fiduciary investment services for institutional clients. The company was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.