German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) & MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) Head-To-Head Analysis

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) and MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares German American Bancorp and MidWestOne Financial Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
German American Bancorp	$298.84 million	5.13	$83.81 million	$2.63	15.56
MidWestOne Financial Group	$206.03 million	2.92	-$60.29 million	($4.06)	-7.14

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

Risk and Volatility

German American Bancorp has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MidWestOne Financial Group has a beta of 1.06, indicating that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

German American Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. MidWestOne Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.97 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. German American Bancorp pays out 44.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MidWestOne Financial Group pays out -23.9% 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. German American Bancorp has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. MidWestOne Financial Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares German American Bancorp and MidWestOne Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
German American Bancorp	20.84%	11.59%	1.42%
MidWestOne Financial Group	N/A	8.86%	0.81%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

46.9% of German American Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.4% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 6.2% of German American Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for German American Bancorp and MidWestOne Financial Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
German American Bancorp	0	2	2	0	2.50
MidWestOne Financial Group	0	3	1	0	2.25

German American Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $46.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.44%. MidWestOne Financial Group has a consensus price target of $34.17, suggesting a potential upside of 17.82%. Given MidWestOne Financial Group’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe MidWestOne Financial Group is more favorable than German American Bancorp.

Summary

German American Bancorp beats MidWestOne Financial Group on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About German American Bancorp

German American Bancorp, Inc. operates as a financial holding company for German American Bank that provides retail and commercial banking services. The company operates through three segments: Core Banking, Wealth Management Services, and Insurance Operations. The Core Banking segment accepts deposits from the general public; and originates consumer, commercial and agricultural, commercial and agricultural real estate, and residential mortgage loans, as well as sells residential mortgage loans in the secondary market. The Wealth Management segment provides trust, investment advisory, brokerage, and retirement planning services. The Insurance Operations segment offers a range of personal and corporate property and casualty insurance products. It also offers checking, saving, and individual retirement accounts; certificates of deposit; wire transfer; credit cards; home equity, mortgages, and small business; treasury management; and online and mobile banking, bill pay, digital wallet, mobile check deposit, credit score and report, money management, and estatements, as well as wealth advisory. German American Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1910 and is based in Jasper, Indiana.

About MidWestOne Financial Group

MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for MidWestOne Bank that provides commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals, businesses, governmental units, and institutional customers. It offers range of deposit products, including noninterest bearing and interest bearing demand deposits, savings, money market, and time deposits accounts. The company also provides commercial, real estate, agricultural, credit card, and consumer loans; and financing arrangements, such as brokered deposits, term debt, subordinated debt, and equity. In addition, it offers trust and investment services comprising administering estates, trusts, and conservatorships; property and farm management, investment advisory, retail securities brokerage, financial planning, and custodial services; and licensed brokers services. Further, the company provides online and mobile banking, debit cards, automated teller machines, and safe deposit boxes. MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Iowa City, Iowa.