Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS – Get Rating) and Amalgamated Financial (NASDAQ:AMAL – Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Dividends
Northern Trust pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Amalgamated Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Northern Trust pays out 48.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Amalgamated Financial pays out 15.3% 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. Northern Trust has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Amalgamated Financial has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
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Volatility & Risk
Northern Trust has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amalgamated Financial has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Northern Trust and Amalgamated Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
| Northern Trust | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2.20 |
| Amalgamated Financial | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.67 |
Northern Trust currently has a consensus price target of $101.05, indicating a potential upside of 8.16%. Amalgamated Financial has a consensus price target of $27.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.29%. Given Amalgamated Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Amalgamated Financial is more favorable than Northern Trust.
Profitability
This table compares Northern Trust and Amalgamated Financial's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
| Northern Trust | 17.24% | 14.89% | 0.95% |
| Amalgamated Financial | 28.85% | 16.72% | 1.08% |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
81.4% of Northern Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.0% of Amalgamated Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Northern Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Amalgamated Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Northern Trust and Amalgamated Financial's top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
| Northern Trust | $6.76 billion | 2.88 | $1.34 billion | $6.14 | 15.21 |
| Amalgamated Financial | $282.39 million | 2.54 | $81.48 million | $2.62 | 8.94 |
Northern Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Amalgamated Financial. Amalgamated Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Northern Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Northern Trust beats Amalgamated Financial on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Northern Trust
(Get Rating)
Northern Trust Corp. is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of asset servicing, fund administration, asset management, fiduciary, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals. It operates through the following segments: Corporate & Institutional Services and Wealth Management. The Corporate & Institutional Services Segment offers asset servicing, brokerage, banking and related services to corporate and public retirement funds, foundations, endowments, fund managers, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds. The Wealth Management Segment includes trust, investment management, custody, and philanthropic services, financial consulting, guardianship and estate administration, family business consulting, family financial education, brokerage services and private and business banking. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.
About Amalgamated Financial
(Get Rating)
Amalgamated Financial Corp. operates as a holding company for Amalgamated Bank. It offers commercial and retail banking, investment management, and trust custody segments. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in New York, NY.
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