Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB – Get Free Report) and LINKBANCORP (NASDAQ:LNKB – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Dividends
Itaú Unibanco pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. LINKBANCORP pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Itaú Unibanco pays out 5.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. LINKBANCORP pays out -115.4% 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. LINKBANCORP is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for Itaú Unibanco and LINKBANCORP, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Itaú Unibanco | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.25 |
| LINKBANCORP | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Volatility & Risk
Itaú Unibanco has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LINKBANCORP has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Itaú Unibanco and LINKBANCORP’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Itaú Unibanco | $62.74 billion | N/A | $6.63 billion | $0.68 | 9.40 |
| LINKBANCORP | $60.31 million | 4.06 | -$11.97 million | ($0.26) | -25.23 |
Itaú Unibanco has higher revenue and earnings than LINKBANCORP. LINKBANCORP is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Itaú Unibanco, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Itaú Unibanco and LINKBANCORP’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Itaú Unibanco | 10.48% | 17.76% | 1.37% |
| LINKBANCORP | -5.10% | 6.11% | 0.64% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
37.5% of LINKBANCORP shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Itaú Unibanco shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 35.8% of LINKBANCORP 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.
Summary
Itaú Unibanco beats LINKBANCORP on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Itaú 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 LINKBANCORP
LINKBANCORP, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for The Gratz Bank, that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, nonprofit, and business customers in Pennsylvania. Its deposit products include demand, saving, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also offers commercial real estate, commercial business, commercial real estate construction, land development, residential real estate, home equity, consumer, agricultural, and municipal loans. It also provides online banking, mobile banking, direct and remote deposit, and cash management services. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.
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