Financial Contrast: Harleysville Financial (OTCMKTS:HARL) vs. National Australia Bank (OTCMKTS:NABZY)

Harleysville Financial (OTCMKTS:HARL) and National Australia Bank (OTCMKTS:NABZY) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

Harleysville Financial has a beta of 0.34, indicating that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Australia Bank has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Harleysville Financial and National Australia Bank, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Harleysville Financial	0	0	0	0	N/A
National Australia Bank	0	0	0	0	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Harleysville Financial and National Australia Bank”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Harleysville Financial	$36.54 million	2.19	$12.22 million	$2.69	8.18
National Australia Bank	$33.43 billion	2.35	$4.94 billion	N/A	N/A

National Australia Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Harleysville Financial.

Dividends

Harleysville Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. National Australia Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Harleysville Financial pays out 46.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Harleysville Financial and National Australia Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Harleysville Financial	25.16%	11.50%	1.15%
National Australia Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

1.2% of Harleysville Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.5% of Harleysville Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Harleysville Financial beats National Australia Bank on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Harleysville Financial

Harleysville Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Harleysville Bank that provides various banking products and services in Pennsylvania. The company offers various deposit products, including savings, money market, and checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. It also provides consumer loans, including residential mortgages, savings account loans, and home equity line of credit, construction, and non-real estate consumer loans; and commercial loans, such as commercial mortgages, line of credit, and commercial business loans. In addition, the company offers online banking and bill payment, mobile and telephone banking, remote deposit, debit cards, automated clearing house processing, sweep accounts, zero balance accounts, employee services, and other cash management services. Further, it provides investment services, such as financial consultation, cash and wealth management, education planning, investment strategy, insurance, retirement and estate planning, financial and goal planning, and asset allocation services, as well as offers investment products, such as fixed and variable annuities, mutual funds, life insurances, stocks and bonds, tax-advantaged investments, long-term care insurances, disability insurances, retirement plans/individual retirement accounts, wrap accounts, and unit investment trusts. Its primary market area includes Montgomery County and Bucks County. The company was formerly known as Harleysville Savings Financial Corporation and changed its name to Harleysville Financial Corporation in May 2017. Harleysville Financial Corporation was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Harleysville, Pennsylvania.

About National Australia Bank

National Australia Bank Limited provides financial services to individuals and businesses in Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. The company operates through Business and Private Banking; Personal Banking; Corporate and Institutional Banking; New Zealand Banking; and Corporate Functions and Other segments. It accepts transaction accounts, savings accounts, debit cards, and term deposits; and specialized accounts, such as foreign currency, business interest, cash maximiser, farm management, community free saver, statutory trust, and project bank accounts, as well as farm management deposits. In addition, the company provides home loans, personal loans, and business loans; vehicle and equipment finance; and trade and invoice finance, as well as business overdrafts and bank guarantees. Further, it offers insurance products consisting of home and content, landlord, travel, car, caravan and trailer, life, and business insurance products; and pension, self-managed super funds, cash management, and financial planning and advisory services. Additionally, the company provides investment products; credit, debit, and business cards; payments and merchant services; online and internet banking services; small business services; international and foreign exchange solutions; and industry specific banking services. The company was founded in 1834 and is based in Melbourne, Australia.