Contrasting Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) & Logansport Financial (OTCMKTS:LOGN)

Logansport Financial (OTCMKTS:LOGN) and Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

Logansport Financial has a beta of 0.3, meaning that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eastern Bankshares has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Logansport Financial and Eastern Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Logansport Financial	9.65%	N/A	N/A
Eastern Bankshares	48.38%	5.06%	0.68%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Logansport Financial and Eastern Bankshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Logansport Financial	$12.98 million	1.47	$1.79 million	$2.38	13.13
Eastern Bankshares	$623.53 million	4.50	$232.18 million	$2.85	5.58

Eastern Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than Logansport Financial. Eastern Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Logansport Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

71.7% of Eastern Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 17.4% of Logansport Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Eastern Bankshares shares are held by 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

Logansport Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Eastern Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Logansport Financial pays out 75.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Eastern Bankshares pays out 15.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Logansport Financial and Eastern Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Logansport Financial	0	0	0	0	N/A
Eastern Bankshares	0	1	1	0	2.50

Eastern Bankshares has a consensus price target of $18.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.28%. Given Eastern Bankshares’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Eastern Bankshares is more favorable than Logansport Financial.

Summary

Eastern Bankshares beats Logansport Financial on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Logansport Financial

Logansport Financial Corp. operates as the holding company for Logansport Savings Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals and businesses in Cass County, Indiana. The company’s personal banking products and services include checking accounts, rite accounts, NOW accounts, savings accounts, health savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts; mortgage, home equity lines of credit, home improvement, construction, commercial buildings, farm, consumer, education, and car loans, as well as loans for single family and multi-family dwellings; and overdraft, and internet and mobile banking services. It also provides business and commercial checking accounts, commercial savings accounts/certificates of deposit, money market accounts and certificates, commercial sweep accounts, ACH debit/credit capabilities, electric federal tax payment systems, remote banking and merchant card services, wires, coin services, night deposit bags, and remote deposit banking services. In addition, the company offers revolving or seasonal lines of credit, term loans for equipment, commercial real estate mortgages for expansion or acquisition, commercial letters of credit, and guaranteed loans, as well as agricultural loans. Logansport Financial Corp. was founded in 1925 and is based in Logansport, Indiana.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts. It also offers commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and construction, small business, residential real estate, and home equity loans; lines of credit; and other consumer loans comprising unsecured personal lines of credit, overdraft protection, automobile loans, home improvement loans, airplane loans, and other personal loans. In addition, the company provides trust, financial planning and portfolio management, automated lock box collection, cash management, and account reconciliation services; personal, business, and employee benefits insurance products. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1818 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.