Farmers National Banc (NASDAQ:FMNB) versus German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) Head to Head Comparison

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) and Farmers National Banc (NASDAQ:FMNB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares German American Bancorp and Farmers National Banc’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
German American Bancorp	22.19%	12.40%	1.53%
Farmers National Banc	19.57%	13.82%	1.14%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for German American Bancorp and Farmers National Banc, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
German American Bancorp	0	2	1	0	2.33
Farmers National Banc	0	3	1	0	2.25

German American Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $45.50, indicating a potential upside of 15.42%. Farmers National Banc has a consensus target price of $15.50, indicating a potential upside of 15.93%. Given Farmers National Banc’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Farmers National Banc is more favorable than German American Bancorp.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

46.9% of German American Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.7% of Farmers National Banc shares are held by institutional investors. 6.2% of German American Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of Farmers National Banc shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares German American Bancorp and Farmers National Banc”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
German American Bancorp	$330.60 million	4.47	$83.81 million	$2.86	13.78
Farmers National Banc	$180.09 million	2.80	$45.95 million	$1.44	9.28

German American Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Farmers National Banc. Farmers National Banc is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than German American Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

German American Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Farmers National Banc pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. German American Bancorp pays out 40.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Farmers National Banc pays out 47.2% 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. German American Bancorp has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Risk & Volatility

German American Bancorp has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Farmers National Banc has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

German American Bancorp beats Farmers National Banc on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About German American Bancorp

German American Bancorp, Inc. operates as a financial holding company for German American Bank that provides retail and commercial banking services. The company operates through three segments: Core Banking, Wealth Management Services, and Insurance Operations. The Core Banking segment accepts deposits from the general public; and originates consumer, commercial and agricultural, commercial and agricultural real estate, and residential mortgage loans, as well as sells residential mortgage loans in the secondary market. The Wealth Management segment provides trust, investment advisory, brokerage, and retirement planning services. The Insurance Operations segment offers a range of personal and corporate property and casualty insurance products. It also offers checking, saving, and individual retirement accounts; certificates of deposit; wire transfer; credit cards; home equity, mortgages, and small business; treasury management; and online and mobile banking, bill pay, digital wallet, mobile check deposit, credit score and report, money management, and estatements, as well as wealth advisory. German American Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1910 and is based in Jasper, Indiana.

About Farmers National Banc

Farmers National Banc Corp. operates as a bank holding company for The Farmers National Bank of Canfield engages in the banking, trust, retirement consulting, insurance, and financial management businesses. It offers commercial and retail banking services, including checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; commercial, mortgage and installment, and home equity loans; home equity lines of credit, night depository, safe deposit box, money order, bank check, automated teller machine, Internet banking, travel card, E bond transaction, brokerage, and other services. The company also provides personal and corporate trust services in the areas of estate settlement, trust administration, employee benefit plans, and retirement services; property and casualty insurance products and services; and various insurance products through licensed representatives, as well as invests in municipal securities. The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Canfield, Ohio.