Mexico Equity & Income Fund (NYSE:MXE) vs. John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) Critical Comparison

Mexico Equity & Income Fund (NYSE:MXE) and John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Mexico Equity & Income Fund and John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mexico Equity & Income Fund	-$14.92 million	-2.80	N/A	N/A	N/A
John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund	$142.41 million	4.41	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

19.5% of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of Mexico Equity & Income Fund shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Mexico Equity & Income Fund and John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mexico Equity & Income Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A
John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Mexico Equity & Income Fund pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.2%.

Volatility and Risk

Mexico Equity & Income Fund has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Mexico Equity & Income Fund and John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mexico Equity & Income Fund	0	0	0	0	0.00
John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund	0	0	0	1	4.00

Summary

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund beats Mexico Equity & Income Fund on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mexico Equity & Income Fund

Mexico Equity & Income Fund Inc. is a closed ended balanced mutual fund launched and managed by Pichardo Asset Management, S.A. de C.V. The fund invests in the fixed income and public equity markets of Mexico. It also invests some portion in the convertible securities. The fund invests in the stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Mexbol and MSCI Mexico Index. Mexico Equity & Income Fund Inc. was formed on May 24, 1990 and is domiciled in the United States.

About John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC. It is co-managed by John Hancock Asset Management. The fund invests in the public equity markets across the globe. It seeks to invest in the stocks of companies operating across the financial services sector. The fund invests in companies across all market capitalizations. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P Composite 1500 Banks Index. The fund was formerly known as John Hancock Bank and Thrift Opportunity Fund. John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund was formed on August 23, 1994 and is domiciled in the United States.