Ohio Valley Banc (OVBC) Competitors

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

Does the media prefer OVBC or IBCP?

In the previous week, Ohio Valley Banc had 2 more articles in the media than Independent Bank. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Ohio Valley Banc and 2 mentions for Independent Bank. Independent Bank's average media sentiment score of 0.81 beat Ohio Valley Banc's score of 0.50 indicating that Independent Bank is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ohio Valley Banc	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
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

Do analysts rate OVBC or IBCP?

Independent Bank has a consensus target price of $36.67, suggesting a potential upside of 15.27%. Given Independent Bank's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Independent Bank is more favorable than Ohio Valley Banc.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ohio Valley Banc	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Independent Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, OVBC or IBCP?

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
Ohio Valley Banc	$63.88M	2.63	$11M	$2.68	13.32
Independent Bank	$216.85M	3.04	$66.79M	$3.14	10.13

Is OVBC or IBCP more profitable?

Independent Bank has a net margin of 20.67% compared to Ohio Valley Banc's net margin of 12.37%. Independent Bank's return on equity of 15.43% beat Ohio Valley Banc's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ohio Valley Banc	12.37%	7.44%	0.77%
Independent Bank	20.67%	15.43%	1.27%

Do insiders & institutionals believe in OVBC or IBCP?

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

Is OVBC or IBCP a better dividend stock?

Ohio Valley Banc pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Independent Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Ohio Valley Banc pays out 34.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Independent Bank pays out 33.1% 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. Ohio Valley Banc has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Independent Bank has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years. Independent Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor OVBC or IBCP?

Independent Bank received 150 more outperform votes than Ohio Valley Banc when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 54.09% of users gave Independent Bank an outperform vote while only 28.09% of users gave Ohio Valley Banc an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Ohio Valley Banc	Outperform Votes 75 28.09%	Underperform Votes 192 71.91%
Independent Bank	Outperform Votes 225 54.09%	Underperform Votes 191 45.91%

Which has more volatility and risk, OVBC or IBCP?

Ohio Valley Banc has a beta of 0.15, indicating that its share price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Independent Bank has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Independent Bank beats Ohio Valley Banc on 17 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.