West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) and Logansport Financial (OTCMKTS:LOGN) Critical Comparison

Logansport Financial (OTCMKTS:LOGN) and West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Dividends

Logansport Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. West Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Logansport Financial pays out 96.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. West Bancorporation pays out 48.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Logansport Financial and West Bancorporation, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Logansport Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
West Bancorporation	0	3	1	0	2.25

West Bancorporation has a consensus target price of $26.25, indicating a potential downside of 1.24%. Given West Bancorporation’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe West Bancorporation is more favorable than Logansport Financial.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Logansport Financial and West Bancorporation”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Logansport Financial	$15.19 million	1.34	$1.76 million	$1.86	17.66
West Bancorporation	$202.45 million	2.24	$32.56 million	$2.06	12.90

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

44.3% of West Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.4% of Logansport Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of West Bancorporation shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Logansport Financial and West Bancorporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Logansport Financial	7.47%	N/A	N/A
West Bancorporation	17.30%	14.88%	0.95%

Volatility & Risk

Logansport Financial has a beta of 0.18, suggesting that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, West Bancorporation has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

West Bancorporation beats Logansport Financial on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Logansport Financial

Logansport Financial Corp. operates as the holding company for Logansport Savings Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals and businesses in Cass County, Indiana. The company’s personal banking products and services include checking accounts, rite accounts, NOW accounts, savings accounts, health savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts; mortgage, home equity lines of credit, home improvement, construction, commercial buildings, farm, consumer, education, and car loans, as well as loans for single family and multi-family dwellings; and overdraft, and internet and mobile banking services. It also provides business and commercial checking accounts, commercial savings accounts/certificates of deposit, money market accounts and certificates, commercial sweep accounts, ACH debit/credit capabilities, electric federal tax payment systems, remote banking and merchant card services, wires, coin services, night deposit bags, and remote deposit banking services. In addition, the company offers revolving or seasonal lines of credit, term loans for equipment, commercial real estate mortgages for expansion or acquisition, commercial letters of credit, and guaranteed loans, as well as agricultural loans. Logansport Financial Corp. was founded in 1925 and is based in Logansport, Indiana.

About West Bancorporation

West Bancorporation, Inc. operates as the financial holding company provides community banking and trust services to individuals and small- to medium-sized businesses in the United States. It offers deposit services, including checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time certificates of deposit. The company also provides loan products comprising commercial real estate loans, construction and land development loans, commercial lines of credit, and commercial term loans; consumer loans, including loans extended to individuals for household, family, and other personal expenditures not secured by real estate; and 1-4 family residential mortgages and home equity loans. In addition, it offers online and mobile banking, treasury management services including cash management, client-generated automated clearing house transactions, remote deposit, and fraud protection services; merchant credit card processing and corporate credit cards; and administration of estates, conservatorships, personal trusts, and agency accounts. The company was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa.