Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) & Ames National (NASDAQ:ATLO) Head to Head Review

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) and Ames National (NASDAQ:ATLO) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Commerce Bancshares and Ames National’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Commerce Bancshares	25.95%	16.23%	1.73%
Ames National	12.10%	6.41%	0.53%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Commerce Bancshares and Ames National”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Commerce Bancshares	$1.69 billion	5.14	$526.33 million	$4.13	15.72
Ames National	$57.19 million	2.85	$10.22 million	$1.27	14.39

Commerce Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Ames National. Ames National is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Commerce Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Commerce Bancshares has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ames National has a beta of 0.48, indicating that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Commerce Bancshares and Ames National, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Commerce Bancshares	0	6	0	0	2.00
Ames National	0	0	0	0	0.00

Commerce Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $65.60, indicating a potential upside of 1.03%. Given Commerce Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Commerce Bancshares is more favorable than Ames National.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

70.3% of Commerce Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.5% of Ames National shares are held by institutional investors. 3.1% of Commerce Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Ames National shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Commerce Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Ames National pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Commerce Bancshares pays out 26.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ames National pays out 63.0% 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. Commerce Bancshares has increased its dividend for 58 consecutive years.

Summary

Commerce Bancshares beats Ames National on 15 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Commerce Bancshares

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Commerce Bank that provides retail, mortgage banking, corporate, investment, trust, and asset management products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Consumer, Commercial, and Wealth. The Consumer segment offers various banking products and services, including consumer deposits; consumer loans, such as automobile, motorcycle, marine, tractor/trailer, recreational vehicle, fixed rate and revolving home equity, and other consumer loans; patient health care financing; real estate loans; indirect and other consumer financing; retail branch network; personal mortgage banking; consumer installment lending; and consumer debit and credit bank cards. The Commercial segment provides corporate lending, leasing, international, merchant and commercial bank card, and securities safekeeping and bond accounting services; and business products, government deposits, and related commercial cash management services, as well as sells fixed income securities to correspondent banks, corporations, public institutions, municipalities, and individuals. The Wealth segment provides traditional trust and estate planning, advisory and discretionary investment portfolio management, and brokerage services, as well as private banking accounts. The company also offers private equity investment, securities brokerage, insurance agency, specialty lending, and leasing services, as well as online and mobile banking services. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

About Ames National

Ames National Corporation operates as a multi-bank holding company that provides banking products and services primarily in Boone, Clarke, Hancock, Marshall, Polk, Story, and Union counties in central, north central, and south-central Iowa. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking and savings accounts; and time deposits, such as money market accounts and certificates of deposit. It also provides loans, such as short-term and medium-term commercial and agricultural real estate, residential real estate loans, equipment, vehicle, and home improvement loans; consumer loans to finance consumer purchases, such as automobiles, trucks, recreational vehicles, household furnishings, boats, personal loans, and lines of credit; agricultural and business operating loans and lines of credit; and originates mortgage loans for sale into the secondary market. In addition, the company offers cash management, merchant credit card processing, safe deposit box, wire transfer, direct deposit, and automated/video teller machine access services; and automatic drafts for various accounts, as well as wealth management services. Further, it provides farm management, investment, and custodial services for individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations; and online, mobile, and private banking services. Ames National Corporation was incorporated in 1903 and is headquartered in Ames, Iowa.