Reviewing Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) and KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB)

KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB) and Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Risk & Volatility

KB Financial Group has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eagle Bancorp Montana has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

KB Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $2.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Eagle Bancorp Montana pays an annual dividend of $0.59 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. KB Financial Group pays out 23.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Eagle Bancorp Montana pays out 28.9% 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 increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Eagle Bancorp Montana is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares KB Financial Group and Eagle Bancorp Montana”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KB Financial Group	$23.41 billion	2.01	$4.04 billion	$11.65	11.40
Eagle Bancorp Montana	$127.08 million	1.41	$14.84 million	$2.04	10.99

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

11.5% of KB Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.7% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are held by institutional investors. 69.0% of KB Financial Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.8% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for KB Financial Group and Eagle Bancorp Montana, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KB Financial Group	0	0	2	1	3.33
Eagle Bancorp Montana	0	3	1	0	2.25

Eagle Bancorp Montana has a consensus price target of $23.50, suggesting a potential upside of 4.86%. Given Eagle Bancorp Montana’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Eagle Bancorp Montana is more favorable than KB Financial Group.

Profitability

This table compares KB Financial Group and Eagle Bancorp Montana’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KB Financial Group	17.67%	10.11%	0.76%
Eagle Bancorp Montana	12.57%	8.36%	0.76%

Summary

KB Financial Group beats Eagle Bancorp Montana on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About KB Financial Group

KB Financial Group Inc. provides a range of banking and related financial services to consumers and corporations in South Korea, the United States, New Zealand, China, Cambodia, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and internationally. The company operates through Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Other Banking Services, Credit Card, Securities, Life Insurance, and Non-Life Insurance segments. It offers loans, deposit products, and other related financial products and services to large, small, medium-sized enterprises, and small office/home office, as well as individuals and households; investment banking, and brokerage and supporting services; life insurance products; non-life insurance products, including fire, maritime, injury, technology, liability, package, title, guarantee, other special type insurances, automobile, long-term nonlife, property damage, injury, driver, savings, illness, nursing, pension, and others; and credit sale, cash service, card loan, and other supporting services. The company also engages in securities and derivatives trading, funding, and other supporting activities. In addition, it offers foreign exchange transaction; financial investment; credit card and installment financing; financial leasing; auto Installment finance; real estate trust management; capital and collective investment; collection of receivables or credit investigation; software advisory, development, and supply; microfinance; investment advisory; claim; management; savings banking; information and communication; e-commerce; and general advisory services. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

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.