Head to Head Contrast: Northeast Bank (NASDAQ:NBN) vs. Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO)

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) and Northeast Bank (NASDAQ:NBN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

60.7% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.5% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.2% of Northeast Bank shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Peoples Bancorp and Northeast Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Peoples Bancorp	0	3	2	0	2.40
Northeast Bank	0	1	1	0	2.50

Peoples Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $36.90, indicating a potential upside of 10.98%. Northeast Bank has a consensus price target of $91.00, indicating a potential downside of 11.76%. Given Peoples Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Peoples Bancorp is more favorable than Northeast Bank.

Volatility and Risk

Peoples Bancorp has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northeast Bank has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Peoples Bancorp and Northeast Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peoples Bancorp	18.90%	11.07%	1.31%
Northeast Bank	21.94%	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Peoples Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Northeast Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Peoples Bancorp pays out 48.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Northeast Bank pays out 0.5% 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Peoples Bancorp and Northeast Bank”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Peoples Bancorp	$620.14 million	1.91	$117.21 million	$3.31	10.05
Northeast Bank	$263.77 million	3.21	$58.23 million	$7.70	13.39

Peoples Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Northeast Bank. Peoples Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Northeast Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Peoples Bancorp

Peoples Bancorp Inc. operates as the holding company for Peoples Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and governmental deposits; and provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, construction, finance, residential real estate, and consumer indirect and direct loans, as well as home equity lines of credit and overdrafts. It also offers debit and automated teller machine (ATM) cards; safe deposit rental facilities; money orders and cashier’s checks; and telephone, mobile, and online banking services. In addition, the company provides various life, health, and property and casualty insurance products; third-party insurance administration; interactive teller machines; insurance premium financing; check deposit and alert notification; commercial and technology equipment leasing; fiduciary and trust; underwriting, origination, and servicing of equipment leases, and equipment financing agreements; and asset management and administration services, as well as employee benefit, retirement, and health care plan administration services. Further, it offers brokerage services through an unaffiliated registered broker-dealers; insurance premium finance lending and leasing; and credit cards to individuals and businesses, as well as provides merchant credit card transaction processing, and person-to-person payment processing services. Peoples Bancorp Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Marietta, Ohio.

About Northeast Bank

Northeast Bank provides banking services to individual and corporate customers in Maine. The company's deposit products include demand deposit, NOW, money market, savings, certificate of deposit, and individual retirement accounts, as well as checking accounts. Its loan portfolio comprises residential mortgage loans; multi-family and other commercial real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans, such as term loans, lines of credit and equipment, and receivables financing; consumer loans comprising mobile home and overdraft, and deposit-secured loans; and small business administration loans. In addition, the company offers telephone banking, online banking and bill payment, mobile banking, cash management, and remote deposit capture services, as well as debit and credit card, ATM, electronic transfer, and check services. Further, it provides various services, such as money market, merchant, and payroll and HR. Northeast Bank was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Portland, Maine.