Head to Head Review: Codorus Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:CVLY) versus FFW (OTCMKTS:FFWC)

FFW (OTCMKTS:FFWC) and Codorus Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:CVLY) 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.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

52.1% of Codorus Valley Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.0% of FFW shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Codorus Valley Bancorp 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares FFW and Codorus Valley Bancorp’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FFW	$25.63 million	1.50	$5.70 million	$4.08	8.33
Codorus Valley Bancorp	$129.76 million	1.69	$24.97 million	$2.60	8.75

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

Volatility & Risk

FFW has a beta of 0.04, suggesting that its share price is 96% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Codorus Valley Bancorp has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

FFW pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Codorus Valley Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. FFW pays out 28.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Codorus Valley Bancorp pays out 26.2% 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. Codorus Valley Bancorp has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FFW	16.75%	N/A	N/A
Codorus Valley Bancorp	19.25%	13.65%	1.17%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for FFW and Codorus Valley Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FFW	0	0	0	0	N/A
Codorus Valley Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

Codorus Valley Bancorp has a consensus target price of $22.00, indicating a potential downside of 3.55%. Given Codorus Valley Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Codorus Valley Bancorp is more favorable than FFW.

Summary

Codorus Valley Bancorp beats FFW on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FFW

FFW Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Crossroads Bank that provides various banking products and services. The company offers checking and savings accounts, overdraft protection, consumer credit cards, and reorder checks. Its loan products include home equity, auto, RV, boat, motorcycle, and personal loans; mortgage loans; agricultural loans; commercial real estate equipment financing; revolving lines of credit and standby letters of credit; and equipment leasing, as well as commercial lending services. The company offers insurance products, such as auto, home and property, business, life and health, and specialty insurance; investment products and securities; and digital banking services. FFW Corporation was founded in 1920 and is based in Wabash, Indiana.

About Codorus Valley Bancorp

Codorus Valley Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for the PeoplesBank that provides community banking services in South Central Pennsylvania and Central Maryland. The company accepts demand, money market, time, and savings deposits, as well as certificates of deposit and checking account. It also offers commercial loans, such as builder and developer, commercial and residential real estate investor, hotel/motel, wholesale and retail, agriculture, manufacturing, and other loans; business loans; and consumer loans, including residential mortgage, home equity, and others. In addition, the company provides mortgage and wealth management services; credit cards; mobile banking and deposit; online bill pay and statement; treasury management; merchant services; and sells non-deposit investment products. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in York, Pennsylvania.