MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) vs. Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) Financial Comparison

MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) and Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, valuation, dividends and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

65.4% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.9% of Cullen/Frost Bankers shares are held by institutional investors. 2.5% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Cullen/Frost Bankers shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares MidWestOne Financial Group and Cullen/Frost Bankers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MidWestOne Financial Group	16.66%	10.22%	0.96%
Cullen/Frost Bankers	23.37%	16.27%	1.30%

Risk and Volatility

MidWestOne Financial Group has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cullen/Frost Bankers has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

MidWestOne Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.97 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Cullen/Frost Bankers pays an annual dividend of $4.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. MidWestOne Financial Group pays out 34.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cullen/Frost Bankers pays out 38.3% 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. Cullen/Frost Bankers has increased its dividend for 32 consecutive years. Cullen/Frost Bankers is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares MidWestOne Financial Group and Cullen/Frost Bankers”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MidWestOne Financial Group	$238.84 million	4.26	-$60.29 million	$2.81	17.55
Cullen/Frost Bankers	$2.34 billion	4.21	$648.56 million	$10.75	14.72

Cullen/Frost Bankers has higher revenue and earnings than MidWestOne Financial Group. Cullen/Frost Bankers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MidWestOne Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for MidWestOne Financial Group and Cullen/Frost Bankers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MidWestOne Financial Group	0	1	0	0	2.00
Cullen/Frost Bankers	1	8	4	0	2.23

Cullen/Frost Bankers has a consensus target price of $171.55, suggesting a potential upside of 8.41%. Given Cullen/Frost Bankers’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Cullen/Frost Bankers is more favorable than MidWestOne Financial Group.

Summary

Cullen/Frost Bankers beats MidWestOne Financial Group on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MidWestOne Financial Group

MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Iowa City, Iowa. Through its subsidiary, MidWestOne Bank, the company provides community banking services to individuals, businesses and organizations. Its offerings include deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage lending, cash management, and wealth management and trust services. The bank serves customers through offices in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Colorado.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its principal subsidiary, Frost Bank, provides banking and other financial services to individuals and businesses. Frost Bank’s services include consumer and commercial banking, lending, treasury management, and wealth management, including trust and investment services. The company primarily serves customers across Texas through its branches and digital banking channels. The company traces its roots to 1868, when Thomas Claiborne Frost established a mercantile business in San Antonio; banking became part of the business later in the 19th century.