Critical Contrast: AMB Financial (OTCMKTS:AMFC) & ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS)

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) and AMB Financial (OTCMKTS:AMFC) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares ServisFirst Bancshares and AMB Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ServisFirst Bancshares	26.95%	16.36%	1.61%
AMB Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk & Volatility

ServisFirst Bancshares has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AMB Financial has a beta of 0.16, indicating that its share price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

ServisFirst Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. AMB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. ServisFirst Bancshares pays out 30.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ServisFirst Bancshares has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. ServisFirst Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ServisFirst Bancshares and AMB Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ServisFirst Bancshares	$1.02 billion	4.39	$276.60 million	$5.06	16.17
AMB Financial	$18.97 million	1.53	$2.19 million	N/A	N/A

ServisFirst Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than AMB Financial.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

67.3% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.2% of AMB Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 6.7% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 37.7% of AMB Financial 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for ServisFirst Bancshares and AMB Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ServisFirst Bancshares	0	1	2	2	3.20
AMB Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

ServisFirst Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $91.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.19%. Given ServisFirst Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe ServisFirst Bancshares is more favorable than AMB Financial.

Summary

ServisFirst Bancshares beats AMB Financial on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans. It also offers other banking products and services comprising telephone and mobile banking, Internet banking, direct deposit, traveler's checks, safe deposit boxes, attorney trust accounts, automatic account transfers, automated teller machines, and debit and credit card systems; treasury and cash management services; wire transfer, night depository, banking-by-mail, and remote capture services; and correspondent banking services to other financial institutions. In addition, the company holds and manages participations in residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans originated by ServisFirst Bank in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

About AMB Financial

AMB Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for American Community Bank of Indiana that provides financial services to customers in Indiana. The company provides savings, checking, health savings, individual retirement, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It offers business checking accounts, business debit and credit cards, and order business checks. In addition, the company offers mortgage loans, home equity loans, construction/lot loans, community loans, vehicle loans, and loan servicing; and commercial loans, commercial real estate loans, and SBA loans. Further, it provides merchant, remote deposit, wire services, fraud protection, and ACH origination; sweep services, zero balance accounts, lockbox services, vault services, and wealth management services; online, mobile, voice, and banking services; money order and e-statement services; cashier’s checks; and safe deposit boxes. The company was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Saint John, Indiana.