Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) and Commercial National Financial (OTCMKTS:CEFC) Head-To-Head Comparison

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) and Commercial National Financial (OTCMKTS:CEFC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Peoples Bancorp and Commercial National Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peoples Bancorp	16.88%	9.46%	1.15%
Commercial National Financial	22.02%	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Peoples Bancorp and Commercial National Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Peoples Bancorp	$620.14 million	1.72	$117.21 million	$2.92	10.25
Commercial National Financial	$29.17 million	1.65	$5.86 million	$1.60	7.56

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

60.7% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 23.0% of Commercial National Financial shares are owned 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.

Volatility & Risk

Peoples Bancorp has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Commercial National Financial has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Peoples Bancorp and Commercial National Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Peoples Bancorp	0	4	2	0	2.33
Commercial National Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

Peoples Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $35.25, suggesting a potential upside of 17.77%. Given Peoples Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Peoples Bancorp is more favorable than Commercial National Financial.

Dividends

Peoples Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Commercial National Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Peoples Bancorp pays out 56.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Commercial National Financial pays out 35.0% 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. Peoples Bancorp has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Peoples Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Peoples Bancorp beats Commercial National Financial on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Peoples Bancorp

Peoples Bancorp Inc. operates as the holding company for Peoples Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and governmental deposits; and provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, construction, finance, residential real estate, and consumer indirect and direct loans, as well as home equity lines of credit and overdrafts. It also offers debit and automated teller machine (ATM) cards; safe deposit rental facilities; money orders and cashier’s checks; and telephone, mobile, and online banking services. In addition, the company provides various life, health, and property and casualty insurance products; third-party insurance administration; interactive teller machines; insurance premium financing; check deposit and alert notification; commercial and technology equipment leasing; fiduciary and trust; underwriting, origination, and servicing of equipment leases, and equipment financing agreements; and asset management and administration services, as well as employee benefit, retirement, and health care plan administration services. Further, it offers brokerage services through an unaffiliated registered broker-dealers; insurance premium finance lending and leasing; and credit cards to individuals and businesses, as well as provides merchant credit card transaction processing, and person-to-person payment processing services. Peoples Bancorp Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Marietta, Ohio.

About Commercial National Financial

Commercial National Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for Commercial Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, agricultural businesses, commercial businesses, and light industries in Michigan. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking and savings accounts, individual retirement accounts, certificates of deposit, and health savings accounts. It also offers personal loan products, such as automobile loans, recreational vehicle loans, personal lines of credit, and unsecured term loans, as well as home equity loans and mortgage loans; and business loans, including secured lines of credit, business equity line of credit, SBA loans, equipment loans, real estate loans, vehicle loans, term loans, USDA loan programs, and capital access loan programs. In addition, the company provides other services comprising business VISA check cards, debit and ATM cards, business statement savings, business certificates of deposit, merchant services, night depository, telephone banking, online banking, e-statements, direct deposit of payroll for employees, child support payments, collection of receivables, and remote deposit capture, as well as treasury services. It provides its services through offices located in Barry, Gratiot, Ingham, Kent, and Montcalm counties in Michigan. The company was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Ithaca, Michigan.