Analyzing Commerzbank (OTCMKTS:CRZBY) and FirstGroup (OTCMKTS:FGROY)

Commerzbank (OTCMKTS:CRZBY) and FirstGroup (OTCMKTS:FGROY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Commerzbank and FirstGroup, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Commerzbank	0	1	0	0	2.00
FirstGroup	0	0	0	0	0.00

Risk and Volatility

Commerzbank has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FirstGroup has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Commerzbank pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. FirstGroup pays an annual dividend of $0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Commerzbank pays out 13.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Commerzbank and FirstGroup’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Commerzbank	8.55%	6.43%	0.39%
FirstGroup	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Commerzbank and FirstGroup”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Commerzbank	$22.00 billion	0.86	$2.41 billion	$1.91	8.32
FirstGroup	$5.93 billion	0.18	-$19.99 million	N/A	N/A

Commerzbank has higher revenue and earnings than FirstGroup.

Summary

Commerzbank beats FirstGroup on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Commerzbank

Commerzbank AG provides banking and capital market products and services to private and small business customers, corporate, financial service providers, and institutional clients in Germany, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Private and Small-Business Customers, and Corporate Clients. The company offers saving, checking, business, and current accounts; term deposits; pension; credit and debit cards; payment solutions; overdraft services; various loans; and insurance products. It also provides trade securities; treasury management; corporate financing; real estate financing; financing advisory; merger and acquisition; foreign trade; trade financing; asset and risk management; and online banking, as well as wealth management services. Commerzbank AG was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

About FirstGroup

FirstGroup plc provides public transport services in the United Kingdom. The company operates through First Bus and First Rail segments. The First Bus segment offers local bus services with a fleet of approximately 4,800 buses in the United Kingdom. The First Rail segment operates a passenger rail network that provides long-distance, commuter, regional, and sleeper services through a portfolio of Great Western Railway, South Western Railway, and Avanti West Coast franchises; and hull trains and Lumos. FirstGroup plc was founded in 1986 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.