Analyzing Burke & Herbert Financial Services (NASDAQ:BHRB) and Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG)

Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) and Burke & Herbert Financial Services (NASDAQ:BHRB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Dividends

Mizuho Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Burke & Herbert Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $2.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Mizuho Financial Group pays out 36.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Burke & Herbert Financial Services pays out 25.2% 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. Burke & Herbert Financial Services is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Mizuho Financial Group and Burke & Herbert Financial Services”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mizuho Financial Group	$3,201.44 billion	0.02	$6.30 billion	$0.30	14.05
Burke & Herbert Financial Services	$148.44 million	6.41	$22.69 million	$8.41	7.62

Mizuho Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than Burke & Herbert Financial Services. Burke & Herbert Financial Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mizuho Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

3.3% of Mizuho Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Mizuho Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of Burke & Herbert Financial Services shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Mizuho Financial Group and Burke & Herbert Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mizuho Financial Group	6.38%	6.64%	0.24%
Burke & Herbert Financial Services	-1.10%	9.96%	0.85%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Mizuho Financial Group and Burke & Herbert Financial Services, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mizuho Financial Group	0	0	0	0	N/A
Burke & Herbert Financial Services	0	1	1	0	2.50

Burke & Herbert Financial Services has a consensus target price of $74.50, indicating a potential upside of 16.28%. Given Burke & Herbert Financial Services’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Burke & Herbert Financial Services is more favorable than Mizuho Financial Group.

Summary

Burke & Herbert Financial Services beats Mizuho Financial Group on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mizuho Financial Group

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in banking, trust, securities, and other businesses related to financial services in Japan, the Americas, Europe, Asia/Oceania, and internationally. It operates through Retail & Business Banking Company, Corporate & Institutional Company, Global Corporate Company, Global Markets Company, Asset Management Company, and Others segments. The company provides deposit products; syndicated, housing, and card loans; business matching services; and advisory services related to overseas expansions, and mergers and acquisitions-related services. It also offers consulting services, including asset management and asset succession; payroll services; and sells lottery tickets issued by prefectures and ordinance-designated cities. In addition, it offers fund management, underwriting of equity and bonds, risk hedging products, etc. for corporate customers; solutions based on capital management, business strategy, and financial strategy; real estate services; advisory services and solutions, such as advice on proposals on various investment products to financial institutions; and financial services that include funding support and public bonds underwriting. Further, the company offers corporate finance and transaction banking srvices; sales and trading services; investment products; pension funds; and ALM and investment services, including stable capital raising and balance sheet management, as well as management of fixed income, equity, and other securities portfolios. Additionally, the company provides online banking, cash management solutions, currency transaction, trade finance, custody, yen correspondence settlement, and research and consulting services; trust, securitization and structured finance, and stock transfers; and private banking and information technology-related services. Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Burke & Herbert Financial Services

Burke & Herbert Financial Services Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Company that provides various community banking products and services in Virginia and Maryland. It offers consumer and commercial deposit products, such as digital banking, demand, negotiable order of withdrawal, money market, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides loans, such as commercial real estate, single family residential, owner-occupied commercial real estate, residential mortgage, acquisition, construction and development, commercial and industrial, and consumer non-real estate and other loans. In addition, it offers treasury and cash management services; and online and mobile banking, and wealth and trust services. The company was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.