Reviewing Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) & Landmark Bancorp (NASDAQ:LARK)

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) and Landmark Bancorp (NASDAQ:LARK) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

72.0% of Provident Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.7% of Landmark Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 3.1% of Provident Financial Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 12.8% of Landmark Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Provident Financial Services has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Landmark Bancorp has a beta of 0.3, meaning that its share price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Provident Financial Services and Landmark Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Provident Financial Services	0	3	2	1	2.67
Landmark Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00

Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus price target of $23.70, indicating a potential upside of 0.45%. Given Provident Financial Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Provident Financial Services is more favorable than Landmark Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Provident Financial Services and Landmark Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Provident Financial Services	21.06%	10.69%	1.19%
Landmark Bancorp	19.56%	12.61%	1.17%

Dividends

Provident Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Landmark Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Provident Financial Services pays out 43.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Landmark Bancorp pays out 26.1% 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. Landmark Bancorp has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Provident Financial Services and Landmark Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Provident Financial Services	$1.38 billion	2.23	$291.16 million	$2.23	10.58
Landmark Bancorp	$95.97 million	1.80	$18.77 million	$3.07	9.25

Provident Financial Services has higher revenue and earnings than Landmark Bancorp. Landmark Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Provident Financial Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Provident Financial Services beats Landmark Bancorp on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products. The company's loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans that are secured by properties, such as multi-family apartment buildings, office buildings, retail and industrial properties, and office buildings; commercial business loans; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage loans collateralized by one- to four-family residential real estate properties; commercial construction loans; and consumer loans consisting of home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, personal loans and unsecured lines of credit, and auto and recreational vehicle loans. It also offers cash management, remote deposit capture, payroll origination, escrow account management, and online and mobile banking services; and business credit cards. In addition, the company provides wealth management services comprising investment management, trust and estate administration, financial planning, and tax compliance and planning. Further, it sells insurance and investment products, including annuities; operates as a real estate investment trust for acquiring mortgage loans and other real estate related assets; and manages and sells real estate properties acquired through foreclosure. The company was founded in 1839 and is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.

About Landmark Bancorp

Landmark Bancorp, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for Landmark National Bank that provides various financial and banking services to its local communities. It offers non-interest bearing demand, money market, checking, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides one-to-four family residential real estate, construction and land, commercial real estate, commercial, paycheck protection program, municipal, and agriculture loans; and consumer and other loans, such as automobile, boat, and home improvement and home equity loans, as well as insurance, and mobile and online banking services. In addition, the company invests in certain investment and mortgage-related securities. It operates in the eastern, central, southeast, and southwest Kansas. The company was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Manhattan, Kansas.