Analyzing QCR (NASDAQ:QCRH) & Chester Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CNBA)

Chester Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CNBA) and QCR (NASDAQ:QCRH) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Chester Bancorp and QCR’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chester Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A
QCR	19.43%	11.71%	1.30%

Risk and Volatility

Chester Bancorp has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, QCR has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Chester Bancorp and QCR, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chester Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
QCR	0	0	4	0	3.00

QCR has a consensus price target of $87.3750, indicating a potential upside of 16.84%. Given QCR’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe QCR is more favorable than Chester Bancorp.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

70.0% of QCR shares are owned by institutional investors. 38.8% of Chester Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of QCR shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Chester Bancorp and QCR”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chester Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
QCR	$597.39 million	2.12	$113.85 million	$6.64	11.26

QCR has higher revenue and earnings than Chester Bancorp.

Dividends

Chester Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 15.7%. QCR pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. QCR pays out 3.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

QCR beats Chester Bancorp on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chester Bancorp

Chester Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Chester National Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals and businesses in Chester, Illinois. It offers checking accounts, such as regular checking, student checking, golden checking, and club checking accounts; savings accounts, including statement savings, Christmas club, and money market accounts; and certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts. The company also provides loans comprising mortgage, construction, lot, home equity, consumer, and business loans; and reorder check services. It operates two full service offices in Sparta, Illinois; and Perryville, Missouri. Chester Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is based in Chester, Illinois.

About QCR

QCR Holdings, Inc., a multi-bank holding company, provides commercial and consumer banking, and trust and asset management services. The company’s deposit products include noninterest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, time, and brokered deposits. It also provides various commercial and retail lending/leasing, and investment services to corporations, partnerships, individuals, and government agencies. The company’s loan portfolio comprises loans to small and mid-sized businesses; business loans, including lines of credit for working capital and operational purposes; term loans for the acquisition of facilities, equipment, and other purposes; commercial and residential real estate loans; and installment and other consumer loans, such as home improvement, home equity, motor vehicle, and signature loans, as well as small personal credit lines. In addition, it engages in leasing of machinery and equipment to commercial and industrial businesses under direct financing lease contracts; and issuance of trust preferred securities. QCR Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Moline, Illinois.