IBCP vs. BFST, TRST, EQBK, CATC, HBNC, MSBI, HTBK, CPF, MCBC, and HONE
Should you be buying Independent Bank stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Independent Bank include Business First Bancshares (BFST), TrustCo Bank Corp NY (TRST), Equity Bancshares (EQBK), Cambridge Bancorp (CATC), Horizon Bancorp (HBNC), Midland States Bancorp (MSBI), Heritage Commerce (HTBK), Central Pacific Financial (CPF), Macatawa Bank (MCBC), and HarborOne Bancorp (HONE). These companies are all part of the "state commercial banks" industry.
Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) and Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, media sentiment, community ranking, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and earnings.
In the previous week, Business First Bancshares had 3 more articles in the media than Independent Bank. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for Business First Bancshares and 0 mentions for Independent Bank. Business First Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 1.59 beat Independent Bank's score of 1.29 indicating that Business First Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the news media.
79.4% of Independent Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.4% of Business First Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.5% of Independent Bank shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of Business First Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Business First Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Independent Bank. Business First Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Independent Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Independent Bank has a net margin of 20.45% compared to Business First Bancshares' net margin of 17.08%. Independent Bank's return on equity of 16.55% beat Business First Bancshares' return on equity.
Independent Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Business First Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Independent Bank pays out 32.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Business First Bancshares pays out 22.0% 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.
Independent Bank has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Business First Bancshares has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Independent Bank presently has a consensus price target of $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.74%. Business First Bancshares has a consensus price target of $23.33, indicating a potential upside of 7.28%. Given Business First Bancshares' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Business First Bancshares is more favorable than Independent Bank.
Independent Bank received 98 more outperform votes than Business First Bancshares when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 57.73% of users gave Business First Bancshares an outperform vote while only 55.15% of users gave Independent Bank an outperform vote.
Summary
Independent Bank and Business First Bancshares tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.
Get Independent Bank News Delivered to You Automatically
Sign up to receive the latest news and ratings for IBCP and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter.
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding IBCP and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
Independent Bank Competitors List
Related Companies and Tools
