Hawthorn Bancshares (HWBK) Competitors

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) and Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, community ranking, risk, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Which has more volatility and risk, ATLC or HWBK?

Atlanticus has a beta of 2.16, meaning that its share price is 116% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hawthorn Bancshares has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, ATLC or HWBK?

Atlanticus has higher revenue and earnings than Hawthorn Bancshares. Hawthorn Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Atlanticus, 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
Atlanticus	$299.40M	2.72	$102.85M	$4.77	11.28
Hawthorn Bancshares	$72.91M	2.85	$18.26M	$2.75	10.82

Does the media favor ATLC or HWBK?

In the previous week, Hawthorn Bancshares had 5 more articles in the media than Atlanticus. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Hawthorn Bancshares and 3 mentions for Atlanticus. Atlanticus' average media sentiment score of 1.39 beat Hawthorn Bancshares' score of 0.32 indicating that Atlanticus is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Atlanticus	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Hawthorn Bancshares	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Does the MarketBeat Community favor ATLC or HWBK?

Hawthorn Bancshares received 28 more outperform votes than Atlanticus when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 64.90% of users gave Atlanticus an outperform vote while only 62.93% of users gave Hawthorn Bancshares an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Atlanticus	Outperform Votes 135 64.90%	Underperform Votes 73 35.10%
Hawthorn Bancshares	Outperform Votes 163 62.93%	Underperform Votes 96 37.07%

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of ATLC or HWBK?

14.1% of Atlanticus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.7% of Hawthorn Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 51.8% of Atlanticus shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 23.4% of Hawthorn Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is ATLC or HWBK more profitable?

Hawthorn Bancshares has a net margin of 16.65% compared to Atlanticus' net margin of 8.39%. Atlanticus' return on equity of 25.14% beat Hawthorn Bancshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlanticus	8.39%	25.14%	3.74%
Hawthorn Bancshares	16.65%	13.00%	1.00%

Do analysts prefer ATLC or HWBK?

Atlanticus currently has a consensus target price of $61.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.38%. Given Atlanticus' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Atlanticus is more favorable than Hawthorn Bancshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlanticus	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Hawthorn Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Summary

Atlanticus beats Hawthorn Bancshares on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.