Penns Woods Bancorp (NASDAQ:PWOD) versus Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) Head to Head Review

Penns Woods Bancorp (NASDAQ:PWOD) and Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Penns Woods Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Eagle Bancorp Montana pays an annual dividend of $0.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Penns Woods Bancorp pays out 48.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Eagle Bancorp Montana pays out 52.8% 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. Eagle Bancorp Montana has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Penns Woods Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Penns Woods Bancorp and Eagle Bancorp Montana”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Penns Woods Bancorp	$99.97 million	2.31	$16.61 million	$2.64	11.63
Eagle Bancorp Montana	$114.34 million	1.05	$10.06 million	$1.08	13.89

Penns Woods Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Eagle Bancorp Montana. Penns Woods Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eagle Bancorp Montana, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

27.9% of Penns Woods Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.7% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.0% of Penns Woods Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Eagle Bancorp Montana 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 breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Penns Woods Bancorp and Eagle Bancorp Montana, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Penns Woods Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Eagle Bancorp Montana	0	1	0	0	2.00

Eagle Bancorp Montana has a consensus price target of $13.50, suggesting a potential downside of 10.00%. Given Eagle Bancorp Montana’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Eagle Bancorp Montana is more favorable than Penns Woods Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Penns Woods Bancorp and Eagle Bancorp Montana’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Penns Woods Bancorp	16.79%	9.95%	0.88%
Eagle Bancorp Montana	7.03%	4.96%	0.41%

Volatility & Risk

Penns Woods Bancorp has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eagle Bancorp Montana has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

About Penns Woods Bancorp

Penns Woods Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Jersey Shore State Bank, which provides commercial and retail banking services to individuals, partnerships, non-profit organizations, and corporations. It accepts time, demand, and savings deposits, including super NOW accounts, statement savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as checking and individual retirement account (IRAs) accounts. The company also offers loan products comprising residential, commercial, and construction real estate loans; agricultural loans for the purchase or improvement of real estate; commercial loans for the acquisition and improvement of real estate, purchase of equipment, and working capital purposes; letters of credit; consumer loans, such as construction and residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines, automobile financing, personal loans and lines of credit, and overdraft and check lines; and revolving credit loans with overdraft protection. In addition, it provides securities brokerage and financial planning services, which include the sale of life insurance products, annuities, and estate planning services; property and casualty, and auto insurance products; safe deposit services; ATM services; and Internet and telephone banking services. Further, the company engages in real estate transactions and investment activities. It operates through a network of offices located in Clinton, Lycoming, Centre, Montour, Union, Blair, and Luzerne Counties, Pennsylvania. Penns Woods Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

About Eagle Bancorp Montana

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Opportunity Bank of Montana that provides various retail banking products and services to small businesses and individuals in Montana. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides 1-4 family residential mortgage loans, such as residential mortgages and construction of residential properties; commercial real estate loans, including multi-family dwellings, nonresidential property, commercial construction and development, and farmland loans; and second mortgage/home equity loans. In addition, it offers consumer loans, such as loans secured by collateral other than real estate, such as automobiles, recreational vehicles, and boats; personal loans and lines of credit; commercial business loans consisting of business loans and lines of credit on a secured and unsecured basis; construction loans; agricultural loans; and mortgage loan services. The company operates full-service branches and automated teller machines. Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Helena, Montana.