Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR – Get Free Report) and U.S. Global Investors (NASDAQ:GROW – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, earnings and dividends.
Dividends
Piper Sandler Companies pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. U.S. Global Investors pays an annual dividend of $0.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Piper Sandler Companies pays out 18.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. U.S. Global Investors pays out 36.0% 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. Piper Sandler Companies has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Risk and Volatility
Piper Sandler Companies has a beta of 1.43, suggesting that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U.S. Global Investors has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Piper Sandler Companies and U.S. Global Investors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Piper Sandler Companies | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.17 |
| U.S. Global Investors | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Piper Sandler Companies presently has a consensus target price of $90.81, indicating a potential upside of 40.44%. Given Piper Sandler Companies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Piper Sandler Companies is more favorable than U.S. Global Investors.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
72.8% of Piper Sandler Companies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.6% of U.S. Global Investors shares are held by institutional investors. 3.1% of Piper Sandler Companies shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.2% of U.S. Global Investors shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Piper Sandler Companies and U.S. Global Investors”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Piper Sandler Companies | $2.05 billion | 2.23 | $281.33 million | $4.32 | 14.97 |
| U.S. Global Investors | $10.25 million | 3.26 | $3.06 million | $0.25 | 10.88 |
Piper Sandler Companies has higher revenue and earnings than U.S. Global Investors. U.S. Global Investors is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Piper Sandler Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Piper Sandler Companies and U.S. Global Investors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Piper Sandler Companies | 14.51% | 21.92% | 14.60% |
| U.S. Global Investors | 29.81% | 6.70% | 6.30% |
Summary
Piper Sandler Companies beats U.S. Global Investors on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Piper Sandler Companies
Piper Sandler Companies operates as an investment bank and institutional securities firm that serves corporations, private equity groups, public entities, non-profit entities, and institutional investors in the United States and internationally. The company offers investment banking and institutional sales, trading, and research services for various equity and fixed income products. It provides advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, equity private placements, and debt and restructuring advisory; raises capital through equity and debt financings; underwrites municipal issuances; and offers municipal financial advisory and loan placement services, as well as various over-the-counter derivative products. The company also offers public finance investment banking services that focus on state and local governments, and cultural and social service non-profit entities, as well as the education, healthcare, hospitality, senior living, and transportation sectors. In addition, it provides equity and fixed income advisory and trade execution services for institutional investors, and government and non-profit entities. Further, the company is involved in the alternative asset management funds merchant banking and healthcare to invest firm capital and to manage capital from outside investors, as well as trading activities. The company was formerly known as Piper Jaffray Companies and changed its name to Piper Sandler Companies in January 2020. Piper Sandler Companies was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
About U.S. Global Investors
U.S. Global Investors, Inc. is a publicly owned investment manager. It primarily provides its services to investment companies. The firm is a large advisory firm, an investment adviser to an investment company which provides portfolio management for investment companies. The firm manages and launches equity/balanced funds, fixed income funds and other funds. It also manages hedge funds. The firm primarily invests in no-load mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs). U.S. Global Investors, Inc. is based in San Antonio, Texas.
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