Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB – Get Free Report) and Barclays (NYSE:BCS – Get Free Report) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, risk and earnings.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Itau Unibanco and Barclays, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Itau Unibanco | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.00 |
| Barclays | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3.00 |
Itau Unibanco currently has a consensus price target of $9.00, indicating a potential downside of 3.59%. Given Itau Unibanco’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Itau Unibanco is more favorable than Barclays.
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Itau Unibanco | $30.04 billion | 3.44 | $8.03 billion | $0.70 | 13.34 |
| Barclays | $38.42 billion | 2.26 | $9.46 billion | $2.29 | 10.99 |
Barclays has higher revenue and earnings than Itau Unibanco. Barclays is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Itau Unibanco, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
3.4% of Barclays shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Itau Unibanco shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Barclays shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk & Volatility
Itau Unibanco has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Barclays has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Itau Unibanco and Barclays’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Itau Unibanco | 20.64% | 20.83% | 1.55% |
| Barclays | 21.91% | 8.33% | 0.40% |
Dividends
Itau Unibanco pays an annual dividend of $0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Barclays pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Itau Unibanco pays out 4.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Barclays pays out 26.2% 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.
Summary
Barclays beats Itau Unibanco on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Itau Unibanco
Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. offers a range of financial products and services to individuals and corporate customers in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking, and Activities with the Market + Corporation. It offers current account; loans; credit and debit cards; investment and commercial banking services; real estate lending services; financing and investment services; economic, financial and brokerage advisory; and leasing and foreign exchange services. The company also provides property and casualty insurance products covering loss, damage, or liabilities for assets or persons, as well as life insurance products covering death and personal accident. It serves retail customers, account and non-account holders, individuals and legal entities, high income clients, microenterprises, and small companies, as well as middle-market companies and high net worth clients. The company was formerly known as Itaú Unibanco Banco Múltiplo S.A. and changed its name to Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. in April 2009. The company was incorporated in 1924 and is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. operates as a subsidiary of IUPAR – Itaú Unibanco Participações S.A.
About Barclays
Barclays PLC provides various financial services in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The company operates through Barclays UK and Barclays International division segments. It offers financial services, such as retail banking, credit cards, wholesale banking, investment banking, wealth management, and investment management services. In addition, the company engages in securities dealing activities. The company was formerly known as Barclays Bank Limited and changed its name to Barclays PLC in January 1985. Barclays PLC was founded in 1690 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
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