Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) & Eaton Vance (EV) Head-To-Head Contrast

Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE: AMG) and Eaton Vance (NYSE:EV) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, risk, valuation and profitability.

Profitability

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This table compares Affiliated Managers Group and Eaton Vance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Affiliated Managers Group	30.34%	19.27%	9.90%
Eaton Vance	19.82%	33.96%	15.00%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Affiliated Managers Group and Eaton Vance’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Affiliated Managers Group	$2.31 billion	3.85	$689.50 million	$14.60	11.19
Eaton Vance	$1.53 billion	4.32	$282.13 million	$2.48	22.17

Affiliated Managers Group has higher revenue and earnings than Eaton Vance. Affiliated Managers Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eaton Vance, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Affiliated Managers Group has a beta of 1.53, meaning that its share price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eaton Vance has a beta of 1.7, meaning that its share price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Affiliated Managers Group and Eaton Vance, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Affiliated Managers Group	0	3	4	0	2.57
Eaton Vance	0	4	3	0	2.43

Affiliated Managers Group currently has a consensus price target of $213.57, suggesting a potential upside of 30.76%. Eaton Vance has a consensus price target of $57.79, suggesting a potential upside of 5.10%. Given Affiliated Managers Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Affiliated Managers Group is more favorable than Eaton Vance.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.6% of Affiliated Managers Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.9% of Eaton Vance shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Affiliated Managers Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Affiliated Managers Group pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Eaton Vance pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Affiliated Managers Group pays out 8.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Eaton Vance pays out 50.0% 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. Eaton Vance has raised its dividend for 37 consecutive years. Eaton Vance is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Affiliated Managers Group beats Eaton Vance on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

Affiliated Managers Group Company Profile

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc., through its affiliates, operates as an asset management company providing investment management services to mutual funds, institutional clients, and high net worth individuals in the United States. It provides advisory or subadvisory services to mutual funds. These funds are distributed to retail and institutional clients directly and through intermediaries, including independent investment advisors, retirement plan sponsors, broker-dealers, major fund marketplaces, and bank trust departments. The company also offers investment products in various investment styles in the institutional distribution channel, including small, small/mid, mid, and large capitalization value and growth equity, and emerging markets. In addition, it offers quantitative, alternative, and fixed income products, and manages assets for foundations and endowments, defined benefit, and defined contribution plans for corporations and municipalities. Affiliated Managers Group provides investment management or customized investment counseling and fiduciary services. The company was formed as a corporation under the laws of Delaware in 1993. Affiliated Managers Group is based in Prides Crossing, Massachusetts.

Eaton Vance Company Profile

Eaton Vance Corp., through its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, marketing, and management of investment funds in the United States. It also provides investment management and counseling services to institutions and individuals. Further, the company operates as an adviser and distributor of investment companies and separate accounts. As of October 31, 2004, the company provided investment advisory or administration services to approximately 150 funds; approximately 1,300 separately managed individual and institutional accounts; and participated in approximately 40 retail-managed account broker/dealer programs. It markets and distributes shares of funds through a retail network of national and regional broker/dealers, banks, insurance companies, and financial planning firms. Eaton Vance Corp. was incorporated on January 29, 1981 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.