Critical Survey: MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) versus Chester Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CNBA)

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

Profitability

This table compares Chester Bancorp and MidWestOne Financial Group’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
MidWestOne Financial Group	16.66%	10.22%	0.96%

Risk & Volatility

Chester Bancorp has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MidWestOne Financial Group has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Chester Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 19.2%. MidWestOne Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.97 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. MidWestOne Financial Group pays out 34.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

65.4% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 38.8% of Chester Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Chester Bancorp and MidWestOne Financial Group”s 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
MidWestOne Financial Group	$206.03 million	4.94	-$60.29 million	$2.81	17.55

Chester Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than MidWestOne Financial Group.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Chester Bancorp and MidWestOne Financial Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chester Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
MidWestOne Financial Group	0	4	1	0	2.20

MidWestOne Financial Group has a consensus target price of $40.50, indicating a potential downside of 17.87%. Given MidWestOne Financial Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe MidWestOne Financial Group is more favorable than Chester Bancorp.

Summary

MidWestOne Financial Group 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 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.