Contrasting Camden National (NASDAQ:CAC) and Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Camden National (NASDAQ:CAC) and Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Camden National and Westamerica Bancorporation”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Camden National	$156.45 million	3.96	$43.38 million	$3.01	14.09
Westamerica Bancorporation	$304.55 million	4.60	$161.77 million	$5.49	9.56

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

77.4% of Camden National shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.9% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.9% of Camden National shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Camden National has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westamerica Bancorporation has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Camden National and Westamerica Bancorporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Camden National	16.01%	10.36%	0.89%
Westamerica Bancorporation	45.73%	17.67%	2.30%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Camden National and Westamerica Bancorporation, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Camden National	0	2	0	0	2.00
Westamerica Bancorporation	0	3	0	0	2.00

Camden National presently has a consensus price target of $41.50, indicating a potential downside of 2.17%. Westamerica Bancorporation has a consensus price target of $57.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.61%. Given Westamerica Bancorporation’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Westamerica Bancorporation is more favorable than Camden National.

Dividends

Camden National pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Westamerica Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Camden National pays out 55.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Westamerica Bancorporation pays out 32.1% 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. Westamerica Bancorporation has increased its dividend for 32 consecutive years.

Summary

Westamerica Bancorporation beats Camden National on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Camden National

Camden National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Camden National Bank that provides various commercial and consumer banking products and services for consumer, institutional, municipal, non-profit, and commercial customers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. The company accepts checking, savings, time, and brokered deposits, as well as deposits with the certificate of deposit account registry system. Its loan products include non-owner-occupied commercial estate loans, owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, unsecured fully-guaranteed commercial loans backed by the small business administration, loans secured by one-to four-family properties, and consumer and home equity loans. The company also provides brokerage and insurance services through its financial offerings consisting of college, retirement, estate planning, mutual funds, strategic asset management accounts, and variable and fixed annuities. Further, it offers a range of fiduciary and asset management, wealth management, investment management, financial planning, and trustee services. Camden National Corporation was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Camden, Maine.

About Westamerica Bancorporation

Westamerica Bancorporation operates as a bank holding company for the Westamerica Bank that provides various banking products and services to individual and commercial customers. The company accepts various deposit products, including retail savings and checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio includes commercial, commercial and residential real estate, real estate construction, and consumer installment loans, as well as indirect automobile loans. The company was formerly known as Independent Bankshares Corporation and changed its name to Westamerica Bancorporation in 1983. The company was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in San Rafael, California.