Head to Head Review: Landmark Bancorp (NASDAQ:LARK) & Banner (NASDAQ:BANR)

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) and Landmark Bancorp (NASDAQ:LARK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Banner and Landmark Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banner	0	4	3	0	2.43
Landmark Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00

Banner presently has a consensus target price of $71.17, indicating a potential upside of 10.71%. Given Banner’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Banner is more favorable than Landmark Bancorp.

Dividends

Banner pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Landmark Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Banner pays out 36.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Landmark Bancorp pays out 28.2% 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. Landmark Bancorp has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Landmark Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk & Volatility

Banner has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Landmark Bancorp has a beta of 0.29, meaning that its share price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Banner and Landmark Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banner	$832.99 million	2.63	$168.90 million	$5.49	11.71
Landmark Bancorp	$67.72 million	2.31	$13.00 million	$2.84	9.05

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

Profitability

This table compares Banner and Landmark Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banner	21.80%	10.32%	1.17%
Landmark Bancorp	18.32%	12.44%	1.13%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.3% of Banner shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.7% of Landmark Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Banner shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.8% of Landmark Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Banner beats Landmark Bancorp on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Banner

Banner Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Banner Bank that engages in the provision of commercial banking and financial products and services to individuals, businesses, and public sector entities in the United States. It accepts various deposit instruments, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, regular savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as treasury management services and retirement savings plans. The company also provides commercial real estate loans, including owner-occupied, investment properties, and multifamily residential real estate loans; construction, land, and land development loans; one- to four-family residential real estate lending; commercial business loans; agricultural loans; consumer and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, automobile, and boat and recreational vehicle loans, as well as loans secured by deposit accounts; and small business administration loans. In addition, it provides electronic and digital banking services comprising debit cards and ATMs, internet banking, remote deposit, and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Walla Walla, Washington.

About Landmark Bancorp

Landmark Bancorp, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for Landmark National Bank that provides various financial and banking services to its local communities. It offers non-interest bearing demand, money market, checking, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides one-to-four family residential real estate, construction and land, commercial real estate, commercial, paycheck protection program, municipal, and agriculture loans; and consumer and other loans, such as automobile, boat, and home improvement and home equity loans, as well as insurance, and mobile and online banking services. In addition, the company invests in certain investment and mortgage-related securities. It operates in the eastern, central, southeast, and southwest Kansas. The company was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Manhattan, Kansas.