Financial Contrast: Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CMTV) versus Comerica (NYSE:CMA)

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) and Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CMTV) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and profitability.

Dividends

Comerica pays an annual dividend of $2.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Community Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Comerica pays out 56.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Comerica has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.7% of Comerica shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Comerica shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.3% of Community Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Comerica and Community Bancorp’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Comerica	$5.25 billion	1.34	$881.00 million	$5.03	10.58
Community Bancorp	$54.08 million	1.64	$13.43 million	N/A	N/A

Comerica has higher revenue and earnings than Community Bancorp.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Comerica and Community Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Comerica	2	15	5	0	2.14
Community Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

Comerica presently has a consensus price target of $56.89, suggesting a potential upside of 6.91%. Given Comerica’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Comerica is more favorable than Community Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Comerica and Community Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Comerica	13.11%	16.51%	1.04%
Community Bancorp	24.84%	16.68%	1.27%

Risk & Volatility

Comerica has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.34, suggesting that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

About Comerica

Comerica Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services. The company operates through Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, Wealth Management, and Finance segments. The Commercial Bank segment offers various products and services, including commercial loans and lines of credit, deposits, cash management, payment solutions, card services, capital market products, international trade finance, letters of credit, foreign exchange management services, and loan syndication services for small and middle market businesses, multinational corporations, and governmental entities. The Retail Bank segment provides personal financial services, such as consumer lending, consumer deposit gathering, and mortgage loan origination; and various consumer products that include deposit accounts, installment loans, credit cards, student loans, home equity lines of credit, and residential mortgage loans. The Wealth Management segment offers products and services comprising financial planning, trust and fiduciary services, investment management and advisory, brokerage, private banking, and business transition planning services for affluents, high-net worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, business owners, and executives, and institutional clients. The Finance segment comprises securities portfolio, and asset and liability management activities. It operates in Texas, California, Michigan, Arizona, and Florida, the United States; and Canada and Mexico. The company was formerly known as DETROITBANK Corporation and changed its name to Comerica Incorporated in July 1982. Comerica Incorporated was founded in 1849 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

About Community Bancorp

Community Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for Community National Bank that provides financial services to individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and municipalities in northern and central Vermont. It offers financing for commercial business properties, equipment, inventories, and accounts receivable, as well as standby letters of credit; and business checking and other deposit accounts, cash management services, repurchase agreements, ACH and wire transfer services, card processing, and remote deposit capture. The company also provides commercial real estate lending products, including financing for commercial developers and investors, residential builders and developers, and community development entities, including credit products to facilitate the purchase of land and/or build structures for business, to develop residential or commercial properties, and for real estate secured financing of existing businesses, as well as financing to startups and other small businesses. In addition, it offers residential real estate lending products, including fixed-rate and adjustable rate residential mortgage and home equity loans; and retail credit services, which includes personal, automobile, and boat/recreational vehicle loans. The company also provides municipal and institutional banking services, such as deposit account services, term and tax-exempt loans, and lines of credit to state and local governments, schools, charities, membership, and not-for-profit associations. Further, it offers consumer banking services including checking accounts, savings programs, ATMs, debit and credit cards, night deposit facilities, and online, mobile and telephone banking services. Community Bancorp. was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Derby, Vermont.