Bank of Communications (OTCMKTS:BCMXY) & Woori Bank (NYSE:WF) Head-To-Head Review

Bank of Communications (OTCMKTS:BCMXY) and Woori Bank (NYSE:WF) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Risk & Volatility

Bank of Communications has a beta of -0.16, suggesting that its stock price is 116% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Woori Bank has a beta of 1.14, suggesting that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

3.4% of Woori Bank shares are held 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Bank of Communications and Woori Bank”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank of Communications	$75.42 billion	0.81	$13.02 billion	$4.12	5.00
Woori Bank	$19.04 billion	0.70	$2.09 billion	$7.94	6.77

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Bank of Communications and Woori Bank, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of Communications	0	0	0	0	0.00
Woori Bank	0	0	1	0	3.00

Profitability

This table compares Bank of Communications and Woori Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of Communications	17.84%	8.15%	0.63%
Woori Bank	11.84%	8.30%	0.56%

Dividends

Bank of Communications pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Woori Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.35 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Bank of Communications pays out 26.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Woori Bank pays out 17.0% 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.

Summary

Woori Bank beats Bank of Communications on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank of Communications

Bank of Communications Co., Ltd. provides commercial banking products and services in China. The company offers savings deposit products, including demand deposits, lump-sum deposits and withdrawal, time deposit of small savings for lump-sum withdrawal, interest withdrawal on principal deposited, time-demand deposit, call deposit, swap management, and education deposit; personal certificate of deposit; salary financing A; and foreign currency deposit. It also provides credit, quasi-credit, and debit cards; new housing and second-hand mortgage loans and unsecured personal loans; personal wealth management advisor services; and precious metal and commodity trading services. In addition, the company offers corporate structured deposit and corporate certificate of deposit; corporate cash management; industrial chain finance program comprising prepayment financing, inventory financing, accounts receivable financing and accounts payable financing; syndicated loans; corporation overdraft; investment banking services; and offshore banking services, such as repayment financing, inventory financing, accounts receivable financing and accounts payable financing, and forex currencies. Further, it provides bond account activation, bond distribution, and transaction services; related bond escrow and settlement, pledge registration, and principal and interest payment services; training and consulting services for cooperative banks; cross-border inter-bank payments system services; consignment sales of precious metal products; bond underwriting distribution; third party bond depository services; bank derivatives transfer; b-share transfer; bankfutures transfer; standard warehouse warrant pledged financing; institutional investment consulting, wealth management, and insurance services; and clearing and settlement services for future markets. The company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China.

About Woori Bank

Woori Financial Group Inc., a financial holding company, operates as a commercial bank that provides a range of financial products and services to individuals, corporations, and small- and medium-sized enterprises in Korea. It operates through Banking, Credit Card, Capital, Investment Banking, and Others segments. The company offers savings, demand, installment, and time deposits; certificates of deposit; repurchase instruments; and working capital, facilities, general purpose household, mortgage, and home equity loans. It also provides debit and credit cards, cash services, card loans, and related services; lease financing; and securities operation, sale of financial instruments, project financing, and other related solutions. In addition, the company offers credit purchase, cash advance, credit card loans, foreign exchange services and dealing, import and export-related services, offshore lending, syndicated loans and foreign currency securities investment, investment trust products, bancassurance, and private equity funds. Further, it is involved in the real estate trust, system software development and maintenance, financing, credit information, securities investment and trading, derivatives trading, trust, asset securitization, investment and international banking, money transfer, and other services. Additionally, the company offers automated telephone, internet, and mobile banking services; and trust management, trustee, and custodian services. Woori Financial Group Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.