Analyzing The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund (NYSE:GCV) & John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO)

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) and The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund (NYSE:GCV) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, profitability, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund has a beta of 1.4, meaning that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

19.5% of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.4% of The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund and The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund	$132.65 million	5.03	N/A	N/A	N/A
The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund	$8.06 million	9.01	N/A	N/A	N/A

Profitability

This table compares John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund and The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A
The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.7%. The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.7%.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund and The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund	0	0	0	1	4.00
The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund	0	0	0	0	0.00

About John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC. It is co-managed by John Hancock Asset Management. The fund invests in the public equity markets across the globe. It seeks to invest in the stocks of companies operating across the financial services sector. The fund invests in companies across all market capitalizations. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P Composite 1500 Banks Index. The fund was formerly known as John Hancock Bank and Thrift Opportunity Fund. John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund was formed on August 23, 1994 and is domiciled in the United States.

About The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund

The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund Inc. is a closed-ended balanced mutual fund launched by GAMCO Investors, Inc. The fund is managed by Gabelli Funds, LLC. It invests in public equity and fixed income markets. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It primarily invests in convertible securities and other debt and equity securities. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, Barclays Government/Credit Bond Index, and Lipper Convertible Securities Fund Average. It was formerly known as Gabelli Convertible Securities Fund Inc. The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund Inc. was formed on December 19, 1988 and is domiciled in the United States.