Comparing Landmark Bancorp (NASDAQ:LARK) and KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY)

Landmark Bancorp (NASDAQ:LARK) and KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Landmark Bancorp and KeyCorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Landmark Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
KeyCorp	0	8	11	0	2.58

KeyCorp has a consensus target price of $17.79, suggesting a potential downside of 10.90%. Given KeyCorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe KeyCorp is more favorable than Landmark Bancorp.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Landmark Bancorp and KeyCorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Landmark Bancorp	$77.91 million	1.51	$12.24 million	$2.26	9.45
KeyCorp	$5.09 billion	3.70	$967.00 million	$0.01	1,997.00

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

Risk and Volatility

Landmark Bancorp has a beta of 0.43, meaning that its stock price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, KeyCorp has a beta of 1.24, meaning that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Landmark Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. KeyCorp pays an annual dividend of $0.82 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Landmark Bancorp pays out 37.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. KeyCorp pays out 8,200.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Landmark Bancorp has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years and KeyCorp has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. KeyCorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

25.7% of Landmark Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.7% of KeyCorp shares are held by institutional investors. 17.2% of Landmark Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of KeyCorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Landmark Bancorp and KeyCorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Landmark Bancorp	14.36%	9.71%	0.79%
KeyCorp	0.76%	8.24%	0.56%

Summary

KeyCorp beats Landmark Bancorp on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Landmark Bancorp

Landmark Bancorp, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for Landmark National Bank that provides various financial and banking services to its local communities. It offers non-interest bearing demand, money market, checking, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides one-to-four family residential real estate, construction and land, commercial real estate, commercial, paycheck protection program, municipal, and agriculture loans; and consumer and other loans, such as automobile, boat, and home improvement and home equity loans, as well as insurance, and mobile and online banking services. In addition, the company invests in certain investment and mortgage-related securities. It operates in the eastern, central, southeast, and southwest Kansas. The company was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Manhattan, Kansas.

About KeyCorp

KeyCorp operates as the holding company for KeyBank National Association that provides various retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer Bank and Commercial Bank. The company offers various deposits, investment products and services; commercial leasing, investment management, consumer finance; and personal finance and financial wellness, student loan refinancing, mortgage and home equity, lending, credit card, treasury, business advisory, wealth management, asset management, cash management, portfolio management, and trust and related services to individuals and small and medium-sized businesses. It also provides a suite of banking and capital market products, such as syndicated finance, debt and equity capital market products, commercial payments, equipment finance, commercial mortgage banking, derivatives, foreign exchange, financial advisory, and public finance, as well as commercial mortgage loans to consumer, energy, healthcare, industrial, public sector, real estate, and technology sectors for middle market clients. In addition, the company offers community development financing, securities underwriting, brokerage, and investment banking services. The company was founded in 1849 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.