Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) versus Penns Woods Bancorp (NASDAQ:PWOD) Head to Head Review

Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) and Penns Woods Bancorp (NASDAQ:PWOD) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Eagle Bancorp Montana and Penns Woods Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eagle Bancorp Montana	$114.34 million	1.05	$10.06 million	$1.08	13.89
Penns Woods Bancorp	$99.97 million	2.31	$16.61 million	$2.64	11.63

Penns Woods Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Eagle Bancorp Montana. Penns Woods Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eagle Bancorp Montana, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Eagle Bancorp Montana and Penns Woods Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eagle Bancorp Montana	0	1	0	0	2.00
Penns Woods Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

Eagle Bancorp Montana presently has a consensus target price of $13.50, suggesting a potential downside of 10.00%. Given Eagle Bancorp Montana’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Eagle Bancorp Montana is more favorable than Penns Woods Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Eagle Bancorp Montana and Penns Woods Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eagle Bancorp Montana	7.03%	4.96%	0.41%
Penns Woods Bancorp	16.79%	9.95%	0.88%

Dividends

Eagle Bancorp Montana pays an annual dividend of $0.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Penns Woods Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Eagle Bancorp Montana pays out 52.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Penns Woods Bancorp pays out 48.5% 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. Eagle Bancorp Montana has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Penns Woods Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk & Volatility

Eagle Bancorp Montana has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Penns Woods Bancorp has a beta of 0.48, indicating that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

35.7% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.9% of Penns Woods Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.7% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Penns Woods Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

About Eagle Bancorp Montana

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Opportunity Bank of Montana that provides various retail banking products and services to small businesses and individuals in Montana. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides 1-4 family residential mortgage loans, such as residential mortgages and construction of residential properties; commercial real estate loans, including multi-family dwellings, nonresidential property, commercial construction and development, and farmland loans; and second mortgage/home equity loans. In addition, it offers consumer loans, such as loans secured by collateral other than real estate, such as automobiles, recreational vehicles, and boats; personal loans and lines of credit; commercial business loans consisting of business loans and lines of credit on a secured and unsecured basis; construction loans; agricultural loans; and mortgage loan services. The company operates full-service branches and automated teller machines. Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Helena, Montana.

About Penns Woods Bancorp

Penns Woods Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Jersey Shore State Bank, which provides commercial and retail banking services to individuals, partnerships, non-profit organizations, and corporations. It accepts time, demand, and savings deposits, including super NOW accounts, statement savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as checking and individual retirement account (IRAs) accounts. The company also offers loan products comprising residential, commercial, and construction real estate loans; agricultural loans for the purchase or improvement of real estate; commercial loans for the acquisition and improvement of real estate, purchase of equipment, and working capital purposes; letters of credit; consumer loans, such as construction and residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines, automobile financing, personal loans and lines of credit, and overdraft and check lines; and revolving credit loans with overdraft protection. In addition, it provides securities brokerage and financial planning services, which include the sale of life insurance products, annuities, and estate planning services; property and casualty, and auto insurance products; safe deposit services; ATM services; and Internet and telephone banking services. Further, the company engages in real estate transactions and investment activities. It operates through a network of offices located in Clinton, Lycoming, Centre, Montour, Union, Blair, and Luzerne Counties, Pennsylvania. Penns Woods Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.