Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) and Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) Head to Head Survey

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) and Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability and earnings.

Dividends

Stifel Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Carlyle Group pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Stifel Financial pays out 23.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Carlyle Group pays out 148.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Stifel Financial has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years and Carlyle Group has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

82.0% of Stifel Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.9% of Carlyle Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of Stifel Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 25.4% of Carlyle Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Stifel Financial and Carlyle Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stifel Financial	$5.53 billion	1.98	$683.78 million	$5.76	12.59
Carlyle Group	$4.78 billion	3.05	$808.70 million	$0.94	43.83

Carlyle Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Stifel Financial. Stifel Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Carlyle Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Stifel Financial has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carlyle Group has a beta of 1.84, suggesting that its share price is 84% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Stifel Financial and Carlyle Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stifel Financial	16.50%	19.33%	2.36%
Carlyle Group	9.83%	23.63%	5.79%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Stifel Financial and Carlyle Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stifel Financial	1	3	5	0	2.44
Carlyle Group	1	9	7	0	2.35

Stifel Financial presently has a consensus price target of $85.71, suggesting a potential upside of 18.19%. Carlyle Group has a consensus price target of $50.21, suggesting a potential upside of 21.88%. Given Carlyle Group’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Carlyle Group is more favorable than Stifel Financial.

Summary

Carlyle Group beats Stifel Financial on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Stifel Financial

Stifel Financial Corp. is a financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1890 as a brokerage firm, it has grown into a provider of services for individual investors, businesses, and institutional clients. Through its wealth management business, Stifel offers investment advice, financial planning, brokerage services, and related banking and lending services. Its institutional businesses provide equity and fixed-income research, sales and trading, and investment banking services, including advice on mergers and acquisitions and assistance with securities offerings.

About Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group Inc. is a global alternative asset manager that invests on behalf of institutional and individual clients. Its business includes private equity, credit and investment solutions, including portfolios of private equity funds and related investments. Founded in Washington, D.C., in 1987, Carlyle has grown into an international firm with investment activities and offices across North America, Europe and Asia, among other regions. Its strategies span a range of industries and markets, and it works with businesses at different stages of development.