Reviewing Bancorp (NASDAQ:TBBK) & Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH)

Bancorp (NASDAQ:TBBK) and Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Bancorp and Washington Trust Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bancorp	1	2	5	1	2.67
Washington Trust Bancorp	1	3	0	1	2.20

Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $58.50, indicating a potential downside of 5.68%. Washington Trust Bancorp has a consensus price target of $31.33, indicating a potential downside of 14.74%. Given Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Bancorp is more favorable than Washington Trust Bancorp.

Risk and Volatility

Bancorp has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Washington Trust Bancorp has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Bancorp and Washington Trust Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bancorp	26.15%	28.91%	2.52%
Washington Trust Bancorp	13.26%	9.83%	0.78%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.2% of Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.8% of Washington Trust Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 5.6% of Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Washington Trust Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Bancorp and Washington Trust Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bancorp	$328.33 million	8.30	$228.21 million	$4.92	12.61
Washington Trust Bancorp	$393.95 million	1.78	$52.24 million	$2.70	13.61

Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Washington Trust Bancorp. Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Washington Trust Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Bancorp beats Washington Trust Bancorp on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bancorp

The Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for The Bancorp Bank, National Association that provides banking products and services in the United States. It offers a range of deposit products and services, including checking, savings, time, money market, and commercial accounts; overdrafts; and certificates of deposit. The company also provides securities-backed lines of credit and insurance policy cash value-backed lines of credit; investor advisor financing; lease financing for commercial and government vehicle fleets, including trucks and other special purpose vehicles; commercial real estate bridge loans; and small business administration loans. In addition, it offers bill and other payment services; debit and prepaid card issuing services; card and bill payment, and automated clearing house processing services; and internet banking services. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware.

About Washington Trust Bancorp

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for The Washington Trust Company, of Westerly that provides various banking and financial services to individuals and businesses. The company operates in two segments, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management Services. The Commercial Banking segment offers deposit accounts, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand deposits, NOW and savings accounts, money market and retirement deposit accounts, and time deposits; various commercial and retail lending products, such as commercial real estate loans, including commercial mortgages, and construction and development loans; commercial and industrial loans comprising working capital, equipment financing, and financing for other business-related purposes; residential real estate loans that consist of mortgage and homeowner construction loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity loans and lines of credit, personal installment loans, and loans to individuals secured by general aviation aircraft. This segment also provides debit cards; automated teller machines (ATMs); telephone banking, internet banking, mobile banking, remote deposit capture, and other cash management services; and investment portfolio and wholesale funding services. The Wealth Management Services segment offers investment management; financial planning; personal trust and estate services, such as trustee, personal representative, custodian, and guardian; and settlement of decedents’ estates, as well as institutional trust services comprising custody and fiduciary services for personal and institutional clients. Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1800 and is headquartered in Westerly, Rhode Island.