Victory Capital (NASDAQ:VCTR) versus Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI) Critical Analysis

Victory Capital (NASDAQ:VCTR) and Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Volatility & Risk

Victory Capital has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acadian Asset Management has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Victory Capital and Acadian Asset Management’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Victory Capital	32.33%	31.08%	13.69%
Acadian Asset Management	16.81%	1,000.27%	18.11%

Dividends

Victory Capital pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Acadian Asset Management pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Victory Capital pays out 43.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Acadian Asset Management pays out 1.8% 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Victory Capital and Acadian Asset Management”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Victory Capital	$893.48 million	4.26	$288.86 million	$4.37	13.38
Acadian Asset Management	$505.60 million	1.79	$85.00 million	$2.24	10.82

Victory Capital has higher revenue and earnings than Acadian Asset Management. Acadian Asset Management is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Victory Capital, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.7% of Victory Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.7% of Acadian Asset Management shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.5% of Victory Capital shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 27.7% of Acadian Asset Management 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Victory Capital and Acadian Asset Management, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Victory Capital	0	5	4	0	2.44
Acadian Asset Management	0	1	0	0	2.00

Victory Capital currently has a consensus price target of $68.33, indicating a potential upside of 16.83%. Acadian Asset Management has a consensus price target of $27.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.43%. Given Victory Capital’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Victory Capital is more favorable than Acadian Asset Management.

Summary

Victory Capital beats Acadian Asset Management on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Victory Capital

Victory Capital Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an asset management company in the United States and internationally. It offers investment advisory, fund administration, fund compliance, fund transfer agent, fund distribution, and other management services. The company provides specialized investment strategies to institutions, intermediaries, retirement platforms, and individual investors. Its investment products include actively and passively managed mutual funds; rules-based and active exchange traded funds; institutional separate accounts; variable insurance products; alternative investments; and private closed-end funds; and a 529 Education Savings Plan. The company also offers strategies through third-party investment products, including mutual funds, third-party ETF model strategies, retail separately managed accounts, unified managed accounts through wrap account programs, Collective Investment Trusts, and undertakings for the collective investment in transferable securities. Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is based in San Antonio, Texas.

About Acadian Asset Management

Acadian Asset Management Inc. is a publically owned asset management holding company. The firm provides its services to individuals and institutions. It manages separate client focused portfolios through its subsidiaries. The firm also launches equity mutual funds for its clients. It invests in public equity, fixed income, and alternative investment markets through its subsidiaries. The firm was founded in 1980 is based Boston, Massachusetts. It was formally known as BrightSphere Investment Group plc. BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. was formed in 1980 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts.