Head to Head Comparison: Riverview Bancorp (NASDAQ:RVSB) versus Banner (NASDAQ:BANR)

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) and Riverview Bancorp (NASDAQ:RVSB) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Banner and Riverview Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banner	0	2	3	0	2.60
Riverview Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

Banner presently has a consensus target price of $70.1667, indicating a potential upside of 12.84%. Riverview Bancorp has a consensus target price of $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 44.03%. Given Riverview Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Riverview Bancorp is more favorable than Banner.

Profitability

This table compares Banner and Riverview Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banner	21.15%	10.06%	1.13%
Riverview Bancorp	6.95%	3.23%	0.34%

Dividends

Banner pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Riverview Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Banner pays out 36.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Riverview Bancorp pays out 33.3% 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.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.3% of Banner shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.6% of Riverview Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Banner shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Riverview Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Banner and Riverview Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banner	$832.99 million	2.58	$168.90 million	$5.25	11.84
Riverview Bancorp	$73.22 million	1.39	$4.90 million	$0.24	20.25

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

Volatility & Risk

Banner has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Riverview Bancorp has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Banner beats Riverview Bancorp on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Banner

Banner Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Banner Bank that engages in the provision of commercial banking and financial products and services to individuals, businesses, and public sector entities in the United States. It accepts various deposit instruments, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, regular savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as treasury management services and retirement savings plans. The company also provides commercial real estate loans, including owner-occupied, investment properties, and multifamily residential real estate loans; construction, land, and land development loans; one- to four-family residential real estate lending; commercial business loans; agricultural loans; consumer and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, automobile, and boat and recreational vehicle loans, as well as loans secured by deposit accounts; and small business administration loans. In addition, it provides electronic and digital banking services comprising debit cards and ATMs, internet banking, remote deposit, and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Walla Walla, Washington.

About Riverview Bancorp

Riverview Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Riverview Bank that provides commercial banking services to small and medium size businesses, professionals, and wealth building individuals. It offers a range of deposit products, including demand deposits, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and retirement savings plans. The company also provides commercial business, commercial and residential real estate, multi-family real estate, land, real estate construction, and one-to-four family mortgage loans; other consumer loans, such as automobile, boat, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, savings account, and unsecured loans; and home equity lines of credit. In addition, it is involved in the provision of mortgage brokerage and mortgage loan servicing activities, as well as offers asset management services comprising trust, estate planning, and investment management. The company operates in Camas, Washougal, Stevenson, White Salmon, Battle Ground, Goldendale, Ridgefield, and Vancouver, Washington, as well as Portland, Gresham, Tualatin, and Aumsville, Oregon. Riverview Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1923 and is based in Vancouver, Washington.