Analyzing German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) and Chester Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CNBA)

Chester Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CNBA) and German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

Dividends

Chester Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.8%. German American Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. German American Bancorp pays out 34.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. German American Bancorp has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

46.9% of German American Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 38.8% of Chester Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of German American Bancorp shares are owned by 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.

Risk and Volatility

Chester Bancorp has a beta of -0.51, indicating that its share price is 151% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, German American Bancorp has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Chester Bancorp and German American Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chester Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A
German American Bancorp	27.09%	11.98%	1.62%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Chester Bancorp and German American Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chester Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
German American Bancorp	$487.40 million	3.34	$112.64 million	$3.61	12.02

German American Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Chester Bancorp.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Chester Bancorp and German American Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chester Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
German American Bancorp	0	1	3	0	2.75

German American Bancorp has a consensus price target of $47.67, indicating a potential upside of 9.88%. Given German American Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe German American Bancorp is more favorable than Chester Bancorp.

Summary

German American Bancorp beats Chester Bancorp on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chester Bancorp

Chester Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Chester National Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals and businesses in Chester, Illinois. It offers checking accounts, such as regular checking, student checking, golden checking, and club checking accounts; savings accounts, including statement savings, Christmas club, and money market accounts; and certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts. The company also provides loans comprising mortgage, construction, lot, home equity, consumer, and business loans; and reorder check services. It operates two full service offices in Sparta, Illinois; and Perryville, Missouri. Chester Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is based in Chester, Illinois.

About German American Bancorp

German American Bancorp, Inc. operates as a financial holding company for German American Bank that provides retail and commercial banking services. The company operates through three segments: Core Banking, Wealth Management Services, and Insurance Operations. The Core Banking segment accepts deposits from the general public; and originates consumer, commercial and agricultural, commercial and agricultural real estate, and residential mortgage loans, as well as sells residential mortgage loans in the secondary market. The Wealth Management segment provides trust, investment advisory, brokerage, and retirement planning services. The Insurance Operations segment offers a range of personal and corporate property and casualty insurance products. It also offers checking, saving, and individual retirement accounts; certificates of deposit; wire transfer; credit cards; home equity, mortgages, and small business; treasury management; and online and mobile banking, bill pay, digital wallet, mobile check deposit, credit score and report, money management, and estatements, as well as wealth advisory. German American Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1910 and is based in Jasper, Indiana.