Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) vs. Richmond Mutual Bancorporation (NASDAQ:RMBI) Financial Comparison

Richmond Mutual Bancorporation (NASDAQ:RMBI) and Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

26.5% of Richmond Mutual Bancorporation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.0% of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 8.2% of Richmond Mutual Bancorporation shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.3% of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Richmond Mutual Bancorporation and Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Richmond Mutual Bancorporation	0	0	1	0	3.00
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp	0	2	0	0	2.00

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Richmond Mutual Bancorporation and Farmers & Merchants Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Richmond Mutual Bancorporation	$85.28 million	1.60	$9.38 million	$1.06	12.36
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp	$179.19 million	1.82	$25.94 million	$2.32	10.25

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Richmond Mutual Bancorporation. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Richmond Mutual Bancorporation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Richmond Mutual Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.91 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Richmond Mutual Bancorporation pays out 56.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp pays out 39.2% 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. Richmond Mutual Bancorporation has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has raised its dividend for 19 consecutive years.

Volatility and Risk

Richmond Mutual Bancorporation has a beta of 0.41, suggesting that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Richmond Mutual Bancorporation and Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Richmond Mutual Bancorporation	11.90%	8.06%	0.70%
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp	17.03%	9.28%	0.95%

Summary

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp beats Richmond Mutual Bancorporation on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Richmond Mutual Bancorporation

Richmond Mutual Bancorporation, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for First Bank Richmond that provides various banking services. It accepts various deposits, including savings deposit accounts, money market accounts, NOW and demand accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also offers a range of lending products, such as multi-family and commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial loans, construction and development loans, residential real estate loans, and consumer loans. In addition, it engages in the lease financing business; and provision of fee-based financial services comprising trust and estate administration, investment management, retirement plan administration, and private banking services. The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Richmond, Indiana.

About Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial banking, retail banking, and financial services. It includes commercial, agricultural, and residential mortgages as well as consumer and credit card lending activities. The firm also offers checking account services, and savings and time deposit services. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Archbold, OH.