Head-To-Head Contrast: QNB (OTCMKTS:QNBC) versus Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

QNB (OTCMKTS:QNBC) and Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings and risk.

Dividends

QNB pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Valley National Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. QNB pays out 42.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Valley National Bancorp pays out 50.0% 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. QNB is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares QNB and Valley National Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
QNB	13.46%	12.53%	0.72%
Valley National Bancorp	14.86%	6.67%	0.77%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.7% of QNB shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.0% of Valley National Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.5% of QNB shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Valley National Bancorp shares are owned 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares QNB and Valley National Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
QNB	$90.98 million	1.44	$11.45 million	$3.54	9.93
Valley National Bancorp	$1.96 billion	3.04	$380.27 million	$0.88	12.12

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for QNB and Valley National Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
QNB	0	0	0	0	0.00
Valley National Bancorp	0	2	13	2	3.00

Valley National Bancorp has a consensus target price of $13.25, suggesting a potential upside of 24.26%. Given Valley National Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Valley National Bancorp is more favorable than QNB.

Risk & Volatility

QNB has a beta of 0.5, meaning that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Valley National Bancorp has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Valley National Bancorp beats QNB on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About QNB

QNB Corp. operates as the bank holding company for QNB Bank that engages in the provision of commercial and retail banking products, and retail brokerage services. It offers various deposit products, which include demand and savings accounts, such as money market, interest-bearing demand, club, traditional statement savings, and online savings accounts; and time deposits comprising certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans, commercial and residential real estate loans, construction and land development loans, indirect lease financing, 1-4 family residential mortgage loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, and consumer loans. In addition, it offers retail brokerage and advisory services; credit cards and insurance products; merchant services; ATM and debit card services; and internet and mobile-banking, electronic bill pay, and remote deposit capture services. The company serves other community banks, thrift institutions, credit unions and other non-bank financial organizations, such as mutual fund companies, insurance companies, and brokerage companies. QNB Corp. was founded in 1877 and is based in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.

About Valley National Bancorp

Valley National Bancorp operates as the holding company for Valley National Bank that provides various commercial, private banking, retail, insurance, and wealth management financial services products. It operates through Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Corporate other segments. The company offers non-interest bearing, savings, NOW, money market, and time deposit accounts; commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, residential mortgage, and automobile loans; loans secured by the cash surrender value of life insurance; home equity loans and lines of credit; automobile financing; and secured and unsecured other consumer loans. It also invests in various securities and interest-bearing deposits with other banks; and provides international banking services, such as standby and documentary letters of credit, and related products, as well as foreign exchange transactions, documentary collections, and foreign wire transfers services. In addition, the company offers investment services for individuals and small to medium sized businesses; and trusts investment strategies designed for various investment profiles and objectives. Further, it provides trust services, such as living and testamentary trusts, investment management, custodial and escrow services, and estate administration to individuals; tax credit advisory services; brokerage services; property and casualty, life, health, and title insurance agency services; and health care equipment lending and other commercial equipment leasing services, as well as owns real estate related investments. Additionally, the company offers online, mobile, and telephone banking services; receivable, payment, and security solution, merchant, payroll processing, and liquidity services; credit cards; and drive-in and night deposit, automated teller machine, remote deposit capture, and safe deposit facility services. Valley National Bancorp was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey.