Landmark Bancorp (NASDAQ:LARK) vs. NASB Financial (OTCMKTS:NASB) Critical Analysis

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

Risk & Volatility

NASB Financial has a beta of 0.06, suggesting that its stock price is 94% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Landmark Bancorp has a beta of 0.28, suggesting that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

25.7% of Landmark Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 47.0% of NASB Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 12.8% of Landmark Bancorp 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for NASB Financial and Landmark Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NASB Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
Landmark Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00

Profitability

This table compares NASB Financial and Landmark Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NASB Financial	15.19%	6.42%	0.91%
Landmark Bancorp	17.55%	12.09%	1.08%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NASB Financial and Landmark Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NASB Financial	$168.58 million	1.50	$28.26 million	$3.70	9.49
Landmark Bancorp	$89.35 million	1.68	$13.00 million	$2.82	9.20

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

Dividends

NASB Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Landmark Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. NASB Financial pays out 37.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Landmark Bancorp pays out 29.8% 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. Landmark Bancorp has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

Summary

Landmark Bancorp beats NASB Financial on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NASB Financial

NASB Financial, Inc. operates as a unitary thrift holding company for North American Savings Bank, F.S.B. that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts. It also mortgages and refinancing products, including conventional, veterans administration, federal housing administration, jumbo, and IRA residential real-estate loans. In addition, the company provides commercial real estate development and commercial loans, such as multifamily, retail, single-tenant, multi-tenant, office, industrial, and other loans; investment property loans; and construction and development loans. The company was founded in 1927 and is based in Grandview, Missouri.

About Landmark Bancorp

Landmark Bancorp, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for Landmark National Bank that provides various financial and banking services to its local communities. It offers non-interest bearing demand, money market, checking, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides one-to-four family residential real estate, construction and land, commercial real estate, commercial, paycheck protection program, municipal, and agriculture loans; and consumer and other loans, such as automobile, boat, and home improvement and home equity loans, as well as insurance, and mobile and online banking services. In addition, the company invests in certain investment and mortgage-related securities. It operates in the eastern, central, southeast, and southwest Kansas. The company was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Manhattan, Kansas.