AmeriServ Financial (NASDAQ:ASRV) vs. Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) Head-To-Head Contrast

AmeriServ Financial (NASDAQ:ASRV) and Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for AmeriServ Financial and Peapack-Gladstone Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AmeriServ Financial	0	0	1	0	3.00
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	0	0	3	2	3.40

Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a consensus price target of $49.67, suggesting a potential upside of 7.46%. Given Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Peapack-Gladstone Financial is more favorable than AmeriServ Financial.

Profitability

This table compares AmeriServ Financial and Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AmeriServ Financial	6.20%	4.72%	0.38%
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	9.60%	6.75%	0.59%

Dividends

AmeriServ Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Peapack-Gladstone Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. AmeriServ Financial pays out 36.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peapack-Gladstone Financial pays out 8.1% 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.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

31.5% of AmeriServ Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.8% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 7.9% of AmeriServ Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.8% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares AmeriServ Financial and Peapack-Gladstone Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AmeriServ Financial	$88.34 million	0.74	$5.61 million	$0.33	11.61
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	$444.61 million	1.84	$37.33 million	$2.48	18.64

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

Volatility & Risk

AmeriServ Financial has a beta of 0.44, indicating that its stock price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Peapack-Gladstone Financial beats AmeriServ Financial on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AmeriServ Financial

AmeriServ Financial, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of consumer, mortgage and commercial financial products and services through its subsidiary. It operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Wealth Management, and Investment or Parent. The Community Banking segment includes both retail and commercial banking activities. The Wealth Management segment involves in the operations of a Trust Company, West Chester Capital Advisors an investment advisory firm, and Financial Services. The Investment or Parent segment offers investment securities, borrowing activities, and general corporate expenses. The company was founded in January 1983 and is headquartered in Johnstown, PA.

About Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Peapack-Gladstone Bank that provides private banking and wealth management services in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Peapack Private. It offers checking and savings accounts, money market and interest-bearing checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also provides working capital lines of credit, term loans for fixed asset acquisitions, commercial mortgages, multi-family mortgages, and other forms of asset-based financing services; and residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and other second mortgage loans. In addition, it offers corporate and industrial (C&I) and equipment finance, commercial real estate, multifamily, residential, and consumer lending activities; treasury management services; C&I advisory services; escrow management; deposit generation; investment management services; personal trust services, including services as executor, trustee, administrator, custodian, and guardian; and other financial planning, tax preparation, and advisory services. Further, the company provides telephone and Internet banking, merchant credit card, and customer support sales services. Its private banking clients include businesses, non-profits, and consumers; wealth management clients comprise individuals, families, foundations, endowments, trusts, and estates; and commercial loan clients include business owners, professionals, retailers, contractors, and real estate investors. The company operates its private banking locations in Bedminster, Morristown, Princeton, and Teaneck, New Jersey; and branches in Somerset, Morris, Hunterdon, and Union counties, as well as operates automated teller machines. Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey.