Financial Comparison: City (NASDAQ:CHCO) vs. Sydbank A/S (OTCMKTS:SYANY)

Sydbank A/S (OTCMKTS:SYANY) and City (NASDAQ:CHCO) are both financial services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

72.4% of City shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of City shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Sydbank A/S and City, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sydbank A/S	0	0	0	0	N/A
City	0	4	0	0	2.00

City has a consensus price target of $106.75, indicating a potential downside of 12.16%. Given City’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe City is more favorable than Sydbank A/S.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Sydbank A/S and City”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sydbank A/S	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1.49	7.00
City	$279.11 million	6.43	$114.36 million	$7.95	15.29

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

Profitability

This table compares Sydbank A/S and City’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sydbank A/S	N/A	N/A	N/A
City	32.12%	17.42%	1.86%

Summary

City beats Sydbank A/S on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sydbank A/S

Sydbank A/S, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to corporate, private, retail, and institutional clients in Denmark and internationally. The company operates in Banking, Asset Management, Sydbank Markets, Treasury, and Other segments. The company offers various deposits, and loans and advances; and corporate banking services, including financing solutions and advisory services; leasing solutions to businesses; and international commercial banking services, such as payment and cash management solutions. It also provides private banking products and services, such as advisory services related to pensions, investments, and various financial issues. In addition, the company offers advisory and asset management services for investment funds, pooled pension plans, foundations, institutional clients, and wealthy customers; investment management solutions; economic research and equity research; professional advisory services, such as financial planning, insurance, housing, pension, and mortgage credit services to retail clients; and advice and quotes prices as regards bonds, shares, and foreign exchange, as well as undertakes market-making obligations for institutional clients, central banks, asset managers, foreign and other clients, and banks. Further, it offers mortgage bonds, cash letter services, various payment solutions, international cash management services, and trade finance services. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Aabenraa, Denmark.

About City

City Holding Company operates as a holding company for City National Bank of West Virginia that provides various banking, trust, and investment management, and other financial solutions in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts. It also provides commercial and industrial loans that consist of loans to corporate and other legal entity borrowers primarily in small to mid-size industrial and commercial companies; commercial real estate loans comprising commercial mortgages, which are secured by nonresidential and multi-family residential properties; residential real estate loans to consumers for the purchase or refinance of residence; first-priority home equity loans; home equity lines of credit; amortized home equity loans; consumer loans that are secured and unsecured by automobiles, boats, recreational vehicles, certificates of deposit, and other personal property; and demand deposit account overdrafts, as well as owner-occupied real estate and construction, land development, and lines of credit. In addition, the company offers mortgage banking services, including fixed and adjustable-rate mortgages, construction financing, land loans, production of conventional and government-insured mortgages, secondary marketing, and mortgage servicing. Further, it provides deposit services for commercial customers comprising treasury management, lockbox, and other cash management services; merchant credit card services; wealth management, trust, investment, and custodial services for commercial and individual customers; and corporate trust and institutional custody, financial and estate planning, and retirement plan services, as well as automated-teller-machine, interactive-teller-machine, mobile banking, interactive voice response systems, and credit and debit card services. City Holding Company was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia.