Head-To-Head Review: Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) vs. UniCredit (OTCMKTS:UNCFF)

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) and UniCredit (OTCMKTS:UNCFF) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Banco Santander and UniCredit, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banco Santander	1	3	5	1	2.60
UniCredit	0	0	0	0	0.00

Volatility & Risk

Banco Santander has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UniCredit has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

9.2% of Banco Santander shares are held by institutional investors. 9.5% of Banco Santander shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Banco Santander and UniCredit”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banco Santander	$66.36 billion	2.76	$15.95 billion	$1.01	12.18
UniCredit	$41.32 billion	3.12	$12.35 billion	N/A	N/A

Banco Santander has higher revenue and earnings than UniCredit.

Profitability

This table compares Banco Santander and UniCredit’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banco Santander	18.85%	12.14%	0.73%
UniCredit	27.51%	16.29%	1.30%

Summary

Banco Santander beats UniCredit on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Banco Santander

Banco Santander, S.A. provides various financial services worldwide. The company operates through Retail Banking, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, Wealth Management & Insurance, and PagoNxt segments. It offers demand and time deposits, mutual funds, and current and savings accounts; mortgages, consumer finance, loans, and various financing solutions; and project finance, debt capital markets, global transaction banking, and corporate finance services. The company also provides asset management and private banking services; and insurance products. In addition, it offers corporate and investment banking services; and digital payment solutions. Further, it offers online banking and financial services to retail, business, institutional, corporate, private banking and university customers and clients. The company was formerly known as Banco Santander Central Hispano SA and changed its name to Banco Santander, S.A. in February 2007. Banco Santander, S.A. was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.

About UniCredit

UniCredit S.p.A. provides commercial banking services in Italy, Germany, Central Europe, and Eastern Europe. It offers retail, private, and wealth management solutions; and institutional investor solutions. The company also provides corporate finance advisory, rating advisory, financial sponsor, patient capital, capital structure advisory, and finance solutions, as well as securities services. In addition, it offers transactional and risk management, and strategic advisory and funding services; group trade and correspondent banking services; and payments and cash management solutions. The company serves SME, corporate, multinational corporate, financial institution, and public sector clients, as well as retail, private banking, wealth management, and family office clients. The company was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Milan, Italy.