UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) versus Danske Bank A/S (OTCMKTS:DNKEY) Critical Comparison

Danske Bank A/S (OTCMKTS:DNKEY) and UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and profitability.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Danske Bank A/S and UBS Group’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Danske Bank A/S	$7.61 billion	N/A	$3.09 billion	$1.82	8.04
UBS Group	$65.28 billion	N/A	$27.85 billion	$9.18	3.31

UBS Group has higher revenue and earnings than Danske Bank A/S. UBS Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Danske Bank A/S, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Danske Bank A/S pays an annual dividend of $0.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. UBS Group pays an annual dividend of $0.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Danske Bank A/S pays out 42.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. UBS Group pays out 2.5% 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.

Profitability

This table compares Danske Bank A/S and UBS Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Danske Bank A/S	41.00%	12.64%	0.58%
UBS Group	39.78%	7.78%	0.40%

Volatility & Risk

Danske Bank A/S has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UBS Group has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Danske Bank A/S and UBS Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Danske Bank A/S	0	0	0	0	N/A
UBS Group	0	3	3	0	2.50

Summary

UBS Group beats Danske Bank A/S on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Danske Bank A/S

Danske Bank A/S provides various banking products and services to corporate, institutional, and international clients. The company offers insurance and pension products, mortgage finance and real-estate brokerage services, asset management and trading services in fixed income products, foreign exchange services, and equities. It also provides advisory services to personal and private banking customers; and business advisory services, including acquisition, change of ownership, strategic development, or international expansion. In addition, the company offers financing, risk management, investment, and financial advisory services for large corporates and institutions; healthcare solutions; and online and mobile banking services. It has operations in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.

About UBS Group

UBS Group AG provides financial advice and solutions to private, institutional, and corporate clients worldwide. It operates through five divisions: Global Wealth Management, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management, Investment Bank, and Non-core and Legacy. The company offers investment advice, estate and wealth planning, investing, corporate and banking, and investment management, as well as mortgage, securities-based, and structured lending solutions. It also provides personal banking products and services, such as deposits, credit and debit cards, and online and mobile banking, as well as lending, investments, retirement, and wealth management services; and corporate and institutional solutions, including equity and debt capital markets, syndicated and structured credit, private placements, leasing, traditional financing, and transaction banking solutions for payment and cash management services, trade and export finance, and global custody solutions. In addition, the company offers equities, fixed income, hedge funds, real estate and private markets, indexed and alternative beta strategies, asset allocation and currency investment strategies, customized multi-asset solutions, advisory and fiduciary services, and multi-manager hedge fund solutions and advisory services. Further, it advises clients on strategic business opportunities and helps them raise capital to fund their activities; enables its clients to buy, sell, and finance securities on capital markets and to manage their risks and liquidity; distributes, trades in, finances, and clears cash equities and equity-linked products; structures, originates, and distributes new equity and equity-linked issues; and originates, distributes, manages risk, and provides liquidity in foreign exchange, rates, credit and precious metals. The company was formerly known as UBS AG and changed its name to UBS Group AG in December 2014. UBS Group AG was founded in 1862 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.