Bank of Marin Bancorp (NASDAQ:BMRC) and Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and profitability.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Bank of Marin Bancorp and Fifth Third Bancorp's revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Bank of Marin Bancorp | $109.52 million | 4.20 | $34.24 million | $2.48 | 14.05 |
| Fifth Third Bancorp | $9.79 billion | 2.94 | $2.51 billion | $2.77 | 14.78 |
Fifth Third Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Bank of Marin Bancorp. Bank of Marin Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fifth Third Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Bank of Marin Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Fifth Third Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Bank of Marin Bancorp pays out 37.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fifth Third Bancorp pays out 39.0% 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. Bank of Marin Bancorp has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Fifth Third Bancorp has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Bank of Marin Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Bank of Marin Bancorp and Fifth Third Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Bank of Marin Bancorp | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Fifth Third Bancorp | 0 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 2.76 |
Bank of Marin Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $33.00, suggesting a potential downside of 5.28%. Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus price target of $36.6528, suggesting a potential downside of 10.47%. Given Bank of Marin Bancorp's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Bank of Marin Bancorp is more favorable than Fifth Third Bancorp.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
43.9% of Bank of Marin Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.2% of Fifth Third Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 5.2% of Bank of Marin Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Fifth Third Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk and Volatility
Bank of Marin Bancorp has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fifth Third Bancorp has a beta of 1.63, suggesting that its stock price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Bank of Marin Bancorp and Fifth Third Bancorp's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Bank of Marin Bancorp | 28.41% | 8.61% | 1.04% |
| Fifth Third Bancorp | 17.50% | 7.52% | 0.80% |
Summary
Fifth Third Bancorp beats Bank of Marin Bancorp on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
