Financial Survey: Oppenheimer (NYSE:OPY) and Diamond Hill Investment Group (NASDAQ:DHIL)

Oppenheimer (NYSE:OPY) and Diamond Hill Investment Group (NASDAQ:DHIL) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Oppenheimer and Diamond Hill Investment Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Oppenheimer	$1.64 billion	0.55	$148.40 million	$13.04	6.59
Diamond Hill Investment Group	$147.10 million	3.18	$48.76 million	$17.90	9.64

Oppenheimer has higher revenue and earnings than Diamond Hill Investment Group. Oppenheimer is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Diamond Hill Investment Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Oppenheimer pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Diamond Hill Investment Group pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Oppenheimer pays out 5.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Diamond Hill Investment Group pays out 33.5% 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. Oppenheimer has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Oppenheimer and Diamond Hill Investment Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Oppenheimer	0	0	2	0	3.00
Diamond Hill Investment Group	0	0	1	0	3.00

Volatility & Risk

Oppenheimer has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Diamond Hill Investment Group has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Oppenheimer and Diamond Hill Investment Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Oppenheimer	9.06%	16.10%	4.01%
Diamond Hill Investment Group	33.15%	18.08%	12.58%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

32.3% of Oppenheimer shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.5% of Diamond Hill Investment Group shares are held by institutional investors. 34.3% of Oppenheimer shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of Diamond Hill Investment Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Diamond Hill Investment Group beats Oppenheimer on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. operates as a middle-market investment bank and full-service broker-dealer in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The company provides brokerage services covering corporate equity and debt securities, money market instruments, exchange-traded options and futures contracts, municipal bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and unit investment trusts; financial and wealth planning services; and margin lending services. It offers asset management services, including separately managed accounts, mutual fund managed accounts, discretionary portfolio management programs, non-discretionary investment advisory and consultation services, alternative investments, portfolio enhancement programs, and institutional taxable fixed income portfolio management strategies and solutions, as well as taxable and non-taxable fixed income portfolios and strategies. In addition, the company offers investment banking services, such as strategic advisory services and capital markets products; merger and acquisition, equities capital market, debt capital market, debt advisory and restructuring, and fund placement services; and institutional equity sales and trading, equity research, equity derivatives and index options, convertible bonds, event driven sales and trading, and portfolio and electronic trading. Further, it provides institutional fixed income sales and trading, fixed income research, public finance, and municipal trading services; and proprietary trading and investment activities. Additionally, the company offers underwriting, market-making, trust, and discount services, as well as a cloud-based financial market. It serves high-net-worth individuals and families, corporate executives, public and private businesses, institutions and corporations, governments, financial sponsors, and domestic and international investors. Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Diamond Hill Investment Group

Diamond Hill Investment Group, Inc., through its subsidiary, Diamond Hill Capital Management, Inc., provides investment advisory and fund administration services in the United States. It offers investment advisory and related services to clients through pooled vehicles, such as private fund; separately managed accounts; collective investment trusts; and other pooled vehicles, including sub-advised funds and model delivery programs. The company also provides fund administration services comprising portfolio and regulatory compliance, treasury and financial oversight, and general business management and governance of the funds, as well as oversight of back-office service providers, which include the custodian, fund accountant, and transfer agent. Diamond Hill Investment Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.