Ohio Valley Banc (OVBC) Competitors

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) and Ohio Valley Banc (NASDAQ:OVBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and media sentiment.

Which has better valuation and earnings, IBCP or OVBC?

Independent Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Ohio Valley Banc. Independent Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ohio Valley Banc, 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	$323.14M	2.10	$66.79M	$3.07	10.69
Ohio Valley Banc	$88.93M	1.93	$11M	$2.94	12.41

Do analysts prefer IBCP or OVBC?

Independent Bank presently has a consensus target price of $36.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.69%. Given Independent Bank's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Independent Bank is more favorable than Ohio Valley Banc.

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
Ohio Valley Banc	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Does the media favor IBCP or OVBC?

In the previous week, Independent Bank had 1 more articles in the media than Ohio Valley Banc. MarketBeat recorded 2 mentions for Independent Bank and 1 mentions for Ohio Valley Banc. Independent Bank's average media sentiment score of 1.51 beat Ohio Valley Banc's score of 0.34 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)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Ohio Valley Banc	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is IBCP or OVBC a better dividend stock?

Independent Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Ohio Valley Banc pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Independent Bank pays out 33.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ohio Valley Banc pays out 31.3% 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 Ohio Valley Banc has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Independent Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of IBCP or OVBC?

79.4% of Independent Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.1% of Ohio Valley Banc shares are held by institutional investors. 5.7% of Independent Bank shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.1% of Ohio Valley Banc shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, IBCP or OVBC?

Independent Bank has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ohio Valley Banc has a beta of 0.1, suggesting that its share price is 90% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is IBCP or OVBC more profitable?

Independent Bank has a net margin of 20.31% compared to Ohio Valley Banc's net margin of 14.81%. Independent Bank's return on equity of 14.05% beat Ohio Valley Banc's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Independent Bank	20.31%	14.05%	1.21%
Ohio Valley Banc	14.81%	8.95%	0.92%

Summary

Independent Bank beats Ohio Valley Banc on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.