Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) versus Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) Head-To-Head Contrast

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) and Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Associated Banc and Eagle Bancorp Montana, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Associated Banc	0	6	6	0	2.50
Eagle Bancorp Montana	0	3	1	0	2.25

Associated Banc presently has a consensus target price of $30.30, indicating a potential upside of 7.81%. Eagle Bancorp Montana has a consensus target price of $23.50, indicating a potential upside of 5.45%. Given Associated Banc’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Associated Banc is more favorable than Eagle Bancorp Montana.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Associated Banc	19.88%	10.46%	1.10%
Eagle Bancorp Montana	12.16%	8.29%	0.74%

Dividends

Associated Banc pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Eagle Bancorp Montana pays an annual dividend of $0.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Associated Banc pays out 33.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Eagle Bancorp Montana pays out 29.3% 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. Associated Banc has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years and Eagle Bancorp Montana has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years.

Risk and Volatility

Associated Banc has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eagle Bancorp Montana has a beta of 0.35, meaning that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Associated Banc and Eagle Bancorp Montana”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Associated Banc	$2.46 billion	1.90	$474.78 million	$2.88	9.76
Eagle Bancorp Montana	$92.84 million	1.91	$14.84 million	$1.98	11.26

Associated Banc has higher revenue and earnings than Eagle Bancorp Montana. Associated Banc 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.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.0% of Associated Banc shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.7% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Associated Banc shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.8% of Eagle Bancorp Montana 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.

Summary

Associated Banc beats Eagle Bancorp Montana on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Associated Banc

Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company, provides various banking and nonbanking products to individuals and businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. The company offers lending solutions, including commercial loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, letters of credit, leasing, asset based lending and equipment finance, loan syndications products, residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, personal and installment loans, auto finance and business loans, and business lines of credit. It also provides deposit and cash management solutions, such as commercial checking and interest-bearing deposit products, cash vault and night depository services, liquidity solutions, payables and receivables solutions, and information services; specialized financial services, such as interest rate risk management and foreign exchange solutions; fiduciary services, such as administration of pension, profit-sharing and other employee benefit plans, fiduciary and corporate agency services, and institutional asset management services; and investable funds solutions, including savings, money market deposit accounts, IRA accounts, CDs, fixed and variable annuities, full-service, discount, and online investment brokerage; investment advisory services; and trust and investment management accounts. In addition, the company offers deposit and transactional solutions, including checking, credit, debit and pre-paid cards, online banking and bill pay; and money transfer services. Associated Banc-Corp was founded in 1861 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

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.