Hawthorn Bancshares (HWBK) Competitors

Northeast Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBN) and Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Does the media prefer NBN or HWBK?

In the previous week, Hawthorn Bancshares had 1 more articles in the media than Northeast Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 2 mentions for Hawthorn Bancshares and 1 mentions for Northeast Bancorp. Hawthorn Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 1.89 beat Northeast Bancorp's score of 1.77 indicating that Hawthorn Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Northeast Bancorp	Very Positive
Hawthorn Bancshares	Very Positive

Do institutionals and insiders believe in NBN or HWBK?

30.7% of Hawthorn Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.2% of Northeast Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.7% of Hawthorn Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, NBN or HWBK?

Northeast Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Hawthorn Bancshares. Hawthorn Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Northeast Bancorp, 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
Northeast Bancorp	$351M	2.60	$83.44M	$10.08	11.01
Hawthorn Bancshares	$75.43M	2.98	$18.26M	$2.97	10.96

Do analysts prefer NBN or HWBK?

Northeast Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $115.00, suggesting a potential upside of 3.62%. Given Northeast Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Northeast Bancorp is more favorable than Hawthorn Bancshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northeast Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Hawthorn Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Which has more risk and volatility, NBN or HWBK?

Northeast Bancorp has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hawthorn Bancshares has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is NBN or HWBK more profitable?

Northeast Bancorp has a net margin of 23.77% compared to Hawthorn Bancshares' net margin of 18.88%. Northeast Bancorp's return on equity of 19.19% beat Hawthorn Bancshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northeast Bancorp	23.77%	19.19%	2.04%
Hawthorn Bancshares	18.88%	13.63%	1.12%

Is NBN or HWBK a better dividend stock?

Northeast Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Hawthorn Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Northeast Bancorp pays out 0.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hawthorn Bancshares pays out 26.9% 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. Hawthorn Bancshares has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Hawthorn Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Northeast Bancorp beats Hawthorn Bancshares on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.