Comparing China CITIC Bank (OTCMKTS:CHCJY) & Societe Generale Group (OTCMKTS:SCGLY)

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

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares China CITIC Bank 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
China CITIC Bank	$47.42 billion	0.96	$9.54 billion	$3.50	5.32
Societe Generale Group	$30.83 billion	1.98	$6.79 billion	$1.80	9.11

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

Dividends

China CITIC Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.87 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. Societe Generale Group pays an annual dividend of $0.31 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. China CITIC Bank pays out 24.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Societe Generale Group pays out 17.2% 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.

Profitability

This table compares China CITIC Bank and Societe Generale Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
China CITIC Bank	20.20%	8.48%	0.72%
Societe Generale Group	22.33%	6.92%	0.35%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for China CITIC Bank and Societe Generale Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
China CITIC Bank	0	1	0	0	2.00
Societe Generale Group	1	4	6	0	2.45

Institutional & Insider Ownership

1.0% of Societe Generale Group shares are held by institutional investors. 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.

Volatility and Risk

China CITIC Bank has a beta of 0.28, suggesting that its share price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Societe Generale Group has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Societe Generale Group beats China CITIC Bank on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About China CITIC Bank

China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited provides various banking products and services in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company operates in segments, such as Corporate Banking, Retail Banking, and Financial Market business. It accepts deposits; offers corporate and personal loans; and provides securities agency, remittance and settlement, and guarantee services, as well as investment banking and international services. The company also engages in the capital markets operations and inter-bank operations, including inter-bank money market transactions, repurchase transactions, investments, and trading in debt instruments; and derivatives and forex trading. In addition, it offers asset management, finance leasing, wealth management, ageing finance, private banking, credit card, payroll, and other non-banking financial services. The company serves corporations, government agencies, and non-financial institutions; and individual customers and micro and small enterprises. The company operates tier-one branches, tier-two branches, and sub-branches; self-service banks; and self-service terminals, as well as smart teller machines. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China. China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited operates as a subsidiary of CITIC Financial Holdings Co., Ltd.

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.