Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG) versus CI Financial (NYSE:CIXXF) Critical Analysis

Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG) and CI Financial (NYSE:CIXXF) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and earnings.

Dividends

Affiliated Managers Group pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. CI Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.59 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Affiliated Managers Group pays out 0.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CI Financial pays out -236.0% 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. CI Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Affiliated Managers Group and CI Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Affiliated Managers Group	0	2	2	0	2.50
CI Financial	0	1	0	0	2.00

Affiliated Managers Group presently has a consensus price target of $195.50, indicating a potential upside of 4.99%. Given Affiliated Managers Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Affiliated Managers Group is more favorable than CI Financial.

Risk & Volatility

Affiliated Managers Group has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CI Financial has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Affiliated Managers Group and CI Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Affiliated Managers Group	31.51%	16.50%	8.18%
CI Financial	-1.90%	50.83%	5.21%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Affiliated Managers Group and CI Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Affiliated Managers Group	$2.06 billion	2.70	$672.90 million	$17.03	10.93
CI Financial	$2.03 billion	1.24	$3.72 million	($0.25)	-68.24

Affiliated Managers Group has higher revenue and earnings than CI Financial. CI Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Affiliated Managers Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

95.3% of Affiliated Managers Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Affiliated Managers Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Affiliated Managers Group beats CI Financial on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Affiliated Managers Group

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc., through its affiliates, operates as an investment management company providing investment management services to mutual funds, institutional clients,retails and high net worth individuals in the United States. It provides advisory or sub-advisory services to mutual funds. These funds are distributed to retail, high net worth and institutional clients directly and through intermediaries, including independent investment advisors, retirement plan sponsors, broker-dealers, major fund marketplaces, and bank trust departments. The company also offers investment products in various investment styles in the institutional distribution channel, including small, small/mid, mid, and large capitalization value and growth equity, and emerging markets. In addition, it offers quantitative, alternative, and fixed income products, and manages assets for foundations and endowments, defined benefit, and defined contribution plans for corporations and municipalities. Affiliated Managers Group provides investment management or customized investment counseling and fiduciary services. Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. was formed in 1993 and is based in West Palm Beach, Florida with additional offices in Prides Crossing, Massachusetts; Stamford, Connecticut; London, United Kingdom; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Sydney, Australia; Hong Kong; Tokyo, Japan, Zurich, Switzerland and Delaware.

About CI Financial

CI Financial Corp. is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm manages separate client focused equity, fixed income, and alternative investments portfolios. It also manages mutual funds, hedge funds, and fund of funds for its clients through its subsidiaries. The firm was founded in 1965 and is based in Toronto, Canada with additional offices in Vancouver, Canada; Calgary, Canada; and Montreal, Canada.