Auburn National Bancorporation (NASDAQ:AUBN) vs. First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Head-To-Head Survey

Auburn National Bancorporation (NASDAQ:AUBN) and First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Dividends

Auburn National Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. First Merchants pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Auburn National Bancorporation pays out 44.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Merchants pays out 47.4% 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. First Merchants has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Auburn National Bancorporation is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Auburn National Bancorporation and First Merchants, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Auburn National Bancorporation	0	1	0	0	2.00
First Merchants	0	3	3	0	2.50

First Merchants has a consensus target price of $49.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.80%. Given First Merchants’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Merchants is more favorable than Auburn National Bancorporation.

Profitability

This table compares Auburn National Bancorporation and First Merchants’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Auburn National Bancorporation	18.60%	9.10%	0.81%
First Merchants	17.05%	8.86%	1.12%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

39.5% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.9% of First Merchants shares are held by institutional investors. 18.7% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of First Merchants shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Auburn National Bancorporation has a beta of 0.42, suggesting that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Merchants has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Auburn National Bancorporation and First Merchants”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Auburn National Bancorporation	$34.26 million	2.73	$7.26 million	$2.41	11.15
First Merchants	$1.05 billion	2.44	$226.00 million	$3.12	13.11

First Merchants has higher revenue and earnings than Auburn National Bancorporation. Auburn National Bancorporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Merchants, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

First Merchants beats Auburn National Bancorporation on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Auburn National Bancorporation

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for AuburnBank that provides various banking products and services in East Alabama. The company offers checking, savings, and transaction deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial, financial, agricultural, real estate construction, and consumer loan products; and other financial services. In addition, the company offers automated teller services; debit cards; online banking, bill payment, and other electronic banking services; and safe deposit boxes. Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Auburn, Alabama.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation operates as the financial holding company for First Merchants Bank that provides community banking services. The company offers a range of financial services, including time, savings, and demand deposits; and consumer, commercial, agri-business, public finance, and real estate mortgage loans. It also provides personal and corporate trust; brokerage and private wealth management; and letters of credit, repurchase agreements, and other corporate services. The company operates banking locations in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan counties. It also offers its services through electronic and mobile delivery channels. First Merchants Corporation was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Muncie, Indiana.