Comparing Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) & Societe Generale Group (OTCMKTS:SCGLY)

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) and Societe Generale Group (OTCMKTS:SCGLY) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Bank of Nova Scotia and Societe Generale Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank of Nova Scotia	$52.70 billion	1.86	$5.56 billion	$4.81	16.59
Societe Generale Group	$30.83 billion	1.92	$6.79 billion	$1.80	8.84

Societe Generale Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Bank of Nova Scotia. Societe Generale Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bank of Nova Scotia, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Bank of Nova Scotia and Societe Generale Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of Nova Scotia	12.40%	12.49%	0.67%
Societe Generale Group	22.33%	6.92%	0.35%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Bank of Nova Scotia and Societe Generale Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of Nova Scotia	0	3	2	0	2.40
Societe Generale Group	1	4	6	0	2.45

Bank of Nova Scotia presently has a consensus price target of $106.00, suggesting a potential upside of 32.86%. Given Bank of Nova Scotia’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Bank of Nova Scotia is more favorable than Societe Generale Group.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

49.1% of Bank of Nova Scotia shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.0% of Societe Generale Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Bank of Nova Scotia pays an annual dividend of $3.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Societe Generale Group pays an annual dividend of $0.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Bank of Nova Scotia pays out 65.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Societe Generale Group pays out 10.6% 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. Bank of Nova Scotia has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Bank of Nova Scotia is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility and Risk

Bank of Nova Scotia has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Societe Generale Group has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Bank of Nova Scotia beats Societe Generale Group on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets segments. The company offers financial advice and solutions, and banking products, including debit and credit cards, chequing and saving accounts, investments, mortgages, loans, and insurance to individuals; and retail automotive financing solutions. It also provides business banking solutions comprising lending, deposit, cash management, and trade finance solutions to small, medium, and large businesses. In addition, it provides wealth management advice and solutions, including online brokerage, mobile investment, full-service brokerage, trust, private banking, and private investment counsel services; and retail mutual funds, exchange traded funds, liquid alternatives, and institutional funds. The Bank of Nova Scotia was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Societe Generale Group

Société Générale Société anonyme provides banking and financial services to individuals, corporates, and institutional clients in Europe and internationally. It operates through French Retail Banking, International Retail Banking & Financial Services, and Global Banking and Investor Solutions. It offers retail banking services, such as consumer credit, vehicle leasing and fleet management, online banking, wealth management, and equipment and vendor finance services; and insurance products, including home, vehicle, family, health, and mortgage insurance. The company also provides corporate and investment banking, securities, business consulting, consumer finance, advisory and financing, and asset management and private banking services. In addition, it offers brokerage, cash management, payment, factoring/reverse factoring, export financing, trade finance, cash clearing and correspondent banking, and receivables and supply chain financing services. Société Générale Société anonyme was incorporated in 1864 and is headquartered in Paris, France.