Contrasting Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) and Thomasville Bancshares (OTCMKTS:THVB)

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) and Thomasville Bancshares (OTCMKTS:THVB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and dividends.

Dividends

Towne Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Thomasville Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $2.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Towne Bank pays out 49.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Thomasville Bancshares pays out 42.3% 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. Towne Bank has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Towne Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk & Volatility

Towne Bank has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Thomasville Bancshares has a beta of 0.2, indicating that its stock price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Towne Bank and Thomasville Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Towne Bank	1	0	2	0	2.33
Thomasville Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

Towne Bank currently has a consensus target price of $41.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.39%. Given Towne Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Towne Bank is more favorable than Thomasville Bancshares.

Profitability

This table compares Towne Bank and Thomasville Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Towne Bank	15.12%	10.11%	1.25%
Thomasville Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

56.0% of Towne Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 8.1% of Towne Bank shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Towne Bank and Thomasville Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Towne Bank	$1.12 billion	2.30	$169.53 million	$2.20	15.61
Thomasville Bancshares	$137.59 million	4.43	$44.71 million	$6.85	14.04

Towne Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Thomasville Bancshares. Thomasville Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Towne Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Towne Bank beats Thomasville Bancshares on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Towne Bank

TowneBank provides retail and commercial banking services for individuals, commercial enterprises, and professionals. The company operates through three segments: Banking, Realty, and Insurance. It accepts various deposits, including demand deposits, savings accounts, money rate savings, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers secured and unsecured personal loans for financing automobiles, home improvements, education, and personal investments; commercial loans for working capital, business expansion, and equipment and machinery purchases; and mortgage loans, as well as real estate acquisition, development, and construction loans. In addition, it provides other services, such as safe deposit boxes, treasury management services, direct deposit of payroll and social security checks, and automatic drafts for various accounts, as well as online, mobile, and on-call banking services. Further, the company offers documentation services to accomplish tax deferral to investors; investment and asset management services; commercial mortgage brokerage services; and other financial services, such as financial, retirement, and estate planning services, as well as assistance on various investment options comprising alternative investments, annuities, margin accounts, convertible bonds, and pension and profit-sharing plans. Additionally, it provides residential real estate, relocation, property management, vacation rentals, and title and settlement services; and originates residential mortgage loans. The company also offers life, property, casualty, and vehicle insurance services; and employee benefit programs, such as health, dental, vision, and disability insurance. It operates in Richmond, Virginia, the Greater Hampton Roads region in southeastern Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, and Greenville, North Carolina. TowneBank was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Portsmouth, Virginia.

About Thomasville Bancshares

Thomasville Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Thomasville National Bank that provides a range of banking services to individual and corporate customers primarily in Thomas and Glynn counties, Georgia, Leon County, Florida, and the surrounding counties. The company offers checking and savings accounts; money market accounts; and certificates of deposits. It also provides commercial real estate mortgage loans, such as non-farm and non-residential commercial real estate loans, construction loans for commercial businesses, multifamily loans secured by income producing properties, and farmland; and 1-4 family residential loans, including first mortgage liens, junior liens, and home equity lines. In addition, the company offers commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; consumer loans comprising direct consumer instalment loans, overdrafts, and other revolving credit loans and educational loans; and loans to municipalities and development authorities. Further, it provides trust and money management services. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is based in Thomasville, Georgia.