Reviewing Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach (OTCMKTS:FMBL) and Société Générale Société anonyme (OTCMKTS:SCGLY)

Société Générale Société anonyme (OTCMKTS:SCGLY) and Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach (OTCMKTS:FMBL) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Société Générale Société anonyme and Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Société Générale Société anonyme	12.96%	3.72%	0.18%
Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach	9.77%	3.29%	0.37%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Société Générale Société anonyme and Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Société Générale Société anonyme	0	4	0	2	2.67
Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach	0	0	0	0	0.00

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Société Générale Société anonyme and Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Société Générale Société anonyme	$27.17 billion	0.96	$2.70 billion	$0.83	7.87
Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach	$459.33 million	1.47	$44.88 million	$357.92	15.67

Société Générale Société anonyme has higher revenue and earnings than Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach. Société Générale Société anonyme is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Société Générale Société anonyme pays an annual dividend of $0.13 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach pays an annual dividend of $112.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Société Générale Société anonyme pays out 15.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach pays out 31.3% 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

1.0% of Société Générale Société anonyme shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.6% of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.8% of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Société Générale Société anonyme has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach has a beta of 0.43, suggesting that its share price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Société Générale Société anonyme beats Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Société Générale Société anonyme

Société Générale Société anonyme provides banking and financial services to individuals, corporates, and institutional clients in Europe and internationally. It operates through French Retail Banking, International Retail Banking & Financial Services, and Global Banking and Investor Solutions. It offers retail banking services, such as consumer credit, vehicle leasing and fleet management, online banking, wealth management, and equipment and vendor finance services; and insurance products, including home, vehicle, family, health, and mortgage insurance. The company also provides corporate and investment banking, securities, business consulting, consumer finance, advisory and financing, and asset management and private banking services. In addition, it offers brokerage, cash management, payment, factoring/reverse factoring, export financing, trade finance, cash clearing and correspondent banking, and receivables and supply chain financing services. Société Générale Société anonyme was incorporated in 1864 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

About Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach

Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach provides various banking products and services to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in Los Angeles, Orange, and Santa Barbara Counties. It offers checking, savings, Christmas club savings, health savings, market rate savings, and money market accounts; demand and time deposits; certificates of deposit; and individual retirement account. The company also provides personal, home, commercial real estate, real estate and construction, and commercial business loans, as well as lines of credit; financing for residential loans comprising single-family and multifamily loans; and credit and debit cards. In addition, it offers account management, receivables and payables, and risk management services; commercial lending services; and faith-based and healthcare banking services, as well as online and mobile banking services. Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Long Beach, California.