Ames National (ATLO) Competitors

Ames National (NASDAQ:ATLO) and First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, community ranking, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, media sentiment, profitability and earnings.

Is ATLO or THFF a better dividend stock?

Ames National pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. First Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Ames National pays out 63.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Financial pays out 44.2% 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. First Financial has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, ATLO or THFF?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ames National	$57.19M	2.71	$10.22M	$1.27	13.67
First Financial	$231.89M	2.61	$47.28M	$4.62	11.05

Do insiders & institutionals believe in ATLO or THFF?

26.5% of Ames National shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.7% of First Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.1% of Ames National shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of First Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to ATLO or THFF?

In the previous week, First Financial had 2 more articles in the media than Ames National. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for First Financial and 3 mentions for Ames National. Ames National's average media sentiment score of 1.28 beat First Financial's score of 1.09 indicating that Ames National is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Ames National	Positive
First Financial	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer ATLO or THFF?

First Financial received 248 more outperform votes than Ames National when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 61.61% of users gave First Financial an outperform vote while only 54.49% of users gave Ames National an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Ames National	Outperform Votes 97 54.49%	Underperform Votes 81 45.51%
First Financial	Outperform Votes 345 61.61%	Underperform Votes 215 38.39%

Do analysts rate ATLO or THFF?

First Financial has a consensus price target of $55.67, suggesting a potential upside of 9.06%. Given First Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Financial is more favorable than Ames National.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ames National	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
First Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Is ATLO or THFF more profitable?

First Financial has a net margin of 15.37% compared to Ames National's net margin of 11.05%. First Financial's return on equity of 8.77% beat Ames National's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ames National	11.05%	5.94%	0.48%
First Financial	15.37%	8.77%	0.93%

Which has more volatility & risk, ATLO or THFF?

Ames National has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial has a beta of 0.41, meaning that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Financial beats Ames National on 16 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.