Reviewing ACNB (NASDAQ:ACNB) and Independent Bank Group (NASDAQ:IBTX)

ACNB (NASDAQ:ACNB) and Independent Bank Group (NASDAQ:IBTX) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, earnings and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

32.3% of ACNB shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.9% of Independent Bank Group shares are held by institutional investors. 3.6% of ACNB shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of Independent Bank Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for ACNB and Independent Bank Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ACNB	0	1	2	0	2.67
Independent Bank Group	0	2	4	0	2.67

ACNB currently has a consensus price target of $45.00, suggesting a potential upside of 22.65%. Independent Bank Group has a consensus price target of $60.33, suggesting a potential downside of 0.55%. Given ACNB’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ACNB is more favorable than Independent Bank Group.

Volatility & Risk

ACNB has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Independent Bank Group has a beta of 1.39, indicating that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ACNB and Independent Bank Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ACNB	$103.89 million	3.02	$31.69 million	$3.44	10.67
Independent Bank Group	$471.74 million	5.33	$43.20 million	($10.46)	-5.80

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

Profitability

This table compares ACNB and Independent Bank Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ACNB	23.43%	10.18%	1.21%
Independent Bank Group	-43.45%	4.49%	0.52%

Dividends

ACNB pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Independent Bank Group pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. ACNB pays out 37.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Independent Bank Group pays out -14.5% 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.

Summary

ACNB beats Independent Bank Group on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ACNB

ACNB Corporation, a financial holding company, offers banking, insurance, and financial services to individual, business, and government customers in the United States. The company provides checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as time deposits and debit cards. It also offers commercial lending products, such as commercial mortgages, real estate development and construction loans, accounts receivable and inventory financing, and agricultural and governmental loans; consumer lending products, including home equity loans and lines of credit, automobile and recreational vehicle loans, manufactured housing loans, and personal lines of credit; and mortgage lending programs include personal residential mortgages, and residential construction and investment mortgage loans. In addition, the company provides other services that are related to testamentary trusts, life insurance trusts, charitable remainder trusts, guardianships, powers of attorney, custodial accounts, and investment management and advisory accounts; and retail brokerage services. Further, it acts as a trustee to invest in, protect, manage, and distribute financial assets. Additionally, the company offers property and casualty, health, life, and disability insurance products to commercial and personal clients; and online, telephone, and mobile banking, as well as automated teller machine services. ACNB Corporation was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

About Independent Bank Group

Independent Bank Group, Inc., through its subsidiary, Independent Bank provides various commercial banking products and services to businesses, professionals, and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including checking and savings accounts, demand deposits, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate loans; commercial construction, land, and land development loans; residential real estate loans; single-family interim construction loans; commercial loans, such as SBA guaranteed loans, business term loans, lines of credit, and energy related loans; agricultural loans for farmers and ranchers; consumer installment loans comprising loans to purchase cars, boats, and other recreational vehicles; and residential mortgages, as well as mortgage warehouse purchase loans. In addition, it offers debit and credit cards, online and mobile banking, estatement, bank-by-mail, and direct deposit services; wealth management services; and business accounts and management services consisting of analyzed business checking, business savings, and treasury management services. The company was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in McKinney, Texas.