Head to Head Contrast: Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) and Camden National (NASDAQ:CAC)

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) and Camden National (NASDAQ:CAC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, earnings and valuation.

Dividends

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Camden National pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp pays out 31.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Camden National pays out 32.2% 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. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has raised its dividend for 19 consecutive years.

Volatility and Risk

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Camden National has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Farmers & Merchants Bancorp and Camden National”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp	$190.68 million	2.52	$33.31 million	$2.91	11.99
Camden National	$373.18 million	2.53	$65.16 million	$5.22	10.72

Camden National has higher revenue and earnings than Farmers & Merchants Bancorp. Camden National is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

24.0% of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.4% of Camden National shares are held by institutional investors. 7.3% of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Camden National shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Farmers & Merchants Bancorp and Camden National’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp	20.27%	10.72%	1.16%
Camden National	23.64%	12.59%	1.27%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Farmers & Merchants Bancorp and Camden National, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp	0	3	1	0	2.25
Camden National	0	4	2	0	2.33

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $32.25, suggesting a potential downside of 7.59%. Camden National has a consensus price target of $56.50, suggesting a potential upside of 0.96%. Given Camden National’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Camden National is more favorable than Farmers & Merchants Bancorp.

Summary

Camden National beats Farmers & Merchants Bancorp on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial banking, retail banking, and financial services. It includes commercial, agricultural, and residential mortgages as well as consumer and credit card lending activities. The firm also offers checking account services, and savings and time deposit services. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Archbold, OH.

About Camden National

Camden National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Camden National Bank that provides various commercial and consumer banking products and services for consumer, institutional, municipal, non-profit, and commercial customers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. The company accepts checking, savings, time, and brokered deposits, as well as deposits with the certificate of deposit account registry system. Its loan products include non-owner-occupied commercial estate loans, owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, unsecured fully-guaranteed commercial loans backed by the small business administration, loans secured by one-to four-family properties, and consumer and home equity loans. The company also provides brokerage and insurance services through its financial offerings consisting of college, retirement, estate planning, mutual funds, strategic asset management accounts, and variable and fixed annuities. Further, it offers a range of fiduciary and asset management, wealth management, investment management, financial planning, and trustee services. Camden National Corporation was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Camden, Maine.