OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) vs. Danske Bank A/S (OTCMKTS:DNKEY) Financial Analysis

Danske Bank A/S (OTCMKTS:DNKEY) and OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Danske Bank A/S and OceanFirst Financial”s gross 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	3.23	$3.09 billion	$1.97	7.36
OceanFirst Financial	$641.60 million	1.86	$104.03 million	$1.75	11.69

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Danske Bank A/S and OceanFirst Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Danske Bank A/S	1	1	0	1	2.33
OceanFirst Financial	0	3	2	0	2.40

OceanFirst Financial has a consensus target price of $19.30, suggesting a potential downside of 5.67%. Given OceanFirst Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe OceanFirst Financial is more favorable than Danske Bank A/S.

Risk & Volatility

Danske Bank A/S has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OceanFirst Financial has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Danske Bank A/S	42.04%	13.40%	0.63%
OceanFirst Financial	15.28%	6.08%	0.76%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

71.0% of OceanFirst Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 5.0% of OceanFirst Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Danske Bank A/S pays an annual dividend of $0.77 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. OceanFirst Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Danske Bank A/S pays out 39.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. OceanFirst Financial pays out 45.7% 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. Danske Bank A/S is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Danske Bank A/S beats OceanFirst Financial on 9 of the 17 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 OceanFirst Financial

OceanFirst Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for OceanFirst Bank N.A. that provides community banking services to retail and commercial customers. It accepts money market accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, non-interest-bearing accounts, and time deposits, that includes brokered deposits to retail, government, and business customers. The company also offers commercial real estate, multi-family, land loans, construction, and commercial and industrial loans; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage loans that are secured by one-to-four family residences; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans and lines of credit, student loans, overdraft line of credit, loans on savings accounts, and other consumer loans. In addition, it invests in mortgage-backed securities, securities issued by the U.S. Government and agencies, corporate securities, and other investments. Further, the company offers bankcard, trust and asset management services; and bank owned life insurance products. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in Red Bank, New Jersey.