Landmark Bancorp (LARK) Competitors

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) and Landmark Bancorp (NASDAQ:LARK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, media sentiment, institutional ownership, community ranking and valuation.

Do analysts rate IBCP or LARK?

Independent Bank presently has a consensus price target of $36.67, indicating a potential upside of 16.03%. Given Independent Bank's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Independent Bank is more favorable than Landmark Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Independent Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Landmark Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Do insiders & institutionals believe in IBCP or LARK?

79.4% of Independent Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.7% of Landmark Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.7% of Independent Bank shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 17.2% of Landmark Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is IBCP or LARK a better dividend stock?

Independent Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Landmark Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Independent Bank pays out 33.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Landmark Bancorp pays out 32.4% 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. Independent Bank has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years and Landmark Bancorp has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Independent Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is IBCP or LARK more profitable?

Independent Bank has a net margin of 20.67% compared to Landmark Bancorp's net margin of 14.51%. Independent Bank's return on equity of 15.43% beat Landmark Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Independent Bank	20.67%	15.43%	1.27%
Landmark Bancorp	14.51%	10.51%	0.89%

Does the MarketBeat Community favor IBCP or LARK?

Independent Bank received 52 more outperform votes than Landmark Bancorp when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 56.35% of users gave Landmark Bancorp an outperform vote while only 54.09% of users gave Independent Bank an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Independent Bank	Outperform Votes 225 54.09%	Underperform Votes 191 45.91%
Landmark Bancorp	Outperform Votes 173 56.35%	Underperform Votes 134 43.65%

Which has more volatility and risk, IBCP or LARK?

Independent Bank has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Landmark Bancorp has a beta of 0.28, meaning that its share price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to IBCP or LARK?

In the previous week, Landmark Bancorp had 5 more articles in the media than Independent Bank. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Landmark Bancorp and 2 mentions for Independent Bank. Independent Bank's average media sentiment score of 0.81 beat Landmark Bancorp's score of -0.05 indicating that Independent Bank is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Independent Bank	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Landmark Bancorp	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has higher valuation & earnings, IBCP or LARK?

Independent Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Landmark Bancorp. Independent Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Landmark 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
Independent Bank	$216.85M	3.02	$66.79M	$3.14	10.06
Landmark Bancorp	$62.80M	2.70	$13M	$2.59	11.31

Summary

Independent Bank beats Landmark Bancorp on 15 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.