Comparing MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) and Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC)

MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) and Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Dividends

MidWestOne Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.97 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Enterprise Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. MidWestOne Financial Group pays out 34.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Enterprise Financial Services pays out 24.9% 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. Enterprise Financial Services has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares MidWestOne Financial Group and Enterprise Financial Services”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MidWestOne Financial Group	$206.03 million	4.12	-$60.29 million	$2.81	14.63
Enterprise Financial Services	$920.75 million	2.26	$185.27 million	$5.14	10.92

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for MidWestOne Financial Group and Enterprise Financial Services, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MidWestOne Financial Group	0	5	1	0	2.17
Enterprise Financial Services	0	1	3	0	2.75

MidWestOne Financial Group presently has a consensus price target of $38.17, suggesting a potential downside of 7.14%. Enterprise Financial Services has a consensus price target of $65.67, suggesting a potential upside of 16.97%. Given Enterprise Financial Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Enterprise Financial Services is more favorable than MidWestOne Financial Group.

Profitability

This table compares MidWestOne Financial Group and Enterprise Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MidWestOne Financial Group	16.66%	10.22%	0.96%
Enterprise Financial Services	19.98%	10.82%	1.24%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

65.4% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.2% of Enterprise Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. 2.5% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of Enterprise Financial Services shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

MidWestOne Financial Group has a beta of 1.06, suggesting that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Enterprise Financial Services has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Enterprise Financial Services beats MidWestOne Financial Group on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MidWestOne Financial Group

MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for MidWestOne Bank that provides commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals, businesses, governmental units, and institutional customers. It offers range of deposit products, including noninterest bearing and interest bearing demand deposits, savings, money market, and time deposits accounts. The company also provides commercial, real estate, agricultural, credit card, and consumer loans; and financing arrangements, such as brokered deposits, term debt, subordinated debt, and equity. In addition, it offers trust and investment services comprising administering estates, trusts, and conservatorships; property and farm management, investment advisory, retail securities brokerage, financial planning, and custodial services; and licensed brokers services. Further, the company provides online and mobile banking, debit cards, automated teller machines, and safe deposit boxes. MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Iowa City, Iowa.

About Enterprise Financial Services

Enterprise Financial Services Corp operates as the holding company for Enterprise Bank & Trust that offers banking and wealth management services to individuals and corporate customers primarily in Arizona, California, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, and New Mexico. It provides checking, savings, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, real estate construction and development, residential real estate, small business administration, agricultural, consumer, and other loan products. In addition, it offers treasury management and international trade services; tax credit brokerage services; life insurance premium and sponsor finance; tax credit related lending; other deposit accounts, such as community associations, property management, third party escrow, and trust services; treasury management product and services; customized solutions and products; cash management; fiduciary, investment management, and financial advisory services; and customer hedging products, including international banking, card services, and tax credit businesses. Further, the company provides online, device applications, text, and voice banking; remote deposit capture; internet banking, mobile banking, cash management, positive pay services, fraud detection and prevention, automated payables, check image, and statement and document imaging; and controlled disbursements, repurchase agreements, and sweep investment accounts. Enterprise Financial Services Corp was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Clayton, Missouri.