American National Bankshares (NASDAQ:AMNB) and Limestone Bancorp (NASDAQ:LMST) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.
Profitability
This table compares American National Bankshares and Limestone Bancorp's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| American National Bankshares | 25.52% | 8.95% | 1.09% |
| Limestone Bancorp | 13.33% | 7.64% | 0.64% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
36.5% of American National Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.7% of Limestone Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of American National Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.0% of Limestone Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares American National Bankshares and Limestone Bancorp's top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| American National Bankshares | $108.03 million | 3.16 | $20.91 million | $3.10 | 10.06 |
| Limestone Bancorp | $55.50 million | 1.85 | $10.52 million | $1.44 | 10.83 |
American National Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than Limestone Bancorp. American National Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Limestone Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for American National Bankshares and Limestone Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| American National Bankshares | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Limestone Bancorp | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
American National Bankshares presently has a consensus target price of $30.25, suggesting a potential downside of 2.98%. Given American National Bankshares' higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe American National Bankshares is more favorable than Limestone Bancorp.
Risk & Volatility
American National Bankshares has a beta of 1.09, meaning that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Limestone Bancorp has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
American National Bankshares beats Limestone Bancorp on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
