Contrasting BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III (NYSE:MYI) and John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO)

BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III (NYSE:MYI) and John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

34.0% of BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.5% of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III and John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III	$38.59 million	18.90	N/A	N/A	N/A
John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund	$142.41 million	4.00	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III and John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III	0	0	0	0	0.00
John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund	0	0	0	1	4.00

Profitability

This table compares BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III and John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III	N/A	N/A	N/A
John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III pays an annual dividend of $0.61 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.0%.

Volatility & Risk

BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund beats BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III

BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III, Inc. is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc. It is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. The fund invests in fixed income markets. It invests primarily in a portfolio of long-term investment-grade municipal obligations exempt from federal income taxes. BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III, Inc. was formed in April 13, 1992 and is domiciled in United States.

About John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC. It is co-managed by John Hancock Asset Management. The fund invests in the public equity markets across the globe. It seeks to invest in the stocks of companies operating across the financial services sector. The fund invests in companies across all market capitalizations. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P Composite 1500 Banks Index. The fund was formerly known as John Hancock Bank and Thrift Opportunity Fund. John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund was formed on August 23, 1994 and is domiciled in the United States.