Contrasting German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) & Heartland BancCorp. (OTCMKTS:HLAN)

Heartland BancCorp. (OTCMKTS:HLAN) and German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Heartland BancCorp. and German American Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Heartland BancCorp.	0	0	0	0	0.00
German American Bancorp	0	3	2	0	2.40

German American Bancorp has a consensus price target of $46.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.56%. Given German American Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe German American Bancorp is more favorable than Heartland BancCorp..

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Heartland BancCorp.	N/A	N/A	N/A
German American Bancorp	20.84%	11.59%	1.42%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

7.5% of Heartland BancCorp. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.9% of German American Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.7% of Heartland BancCorp. shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.2% of German American Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Heartland BancCorp. pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. German American Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Heartland BancCorp. pays out 7.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. German American Bancorp pays out 44.1% 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. German American Bancorp has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. German American Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Heartland BancCorp. and German American Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Heartland BancCorp.	$119.21 million	2.74	$20.26 million	$9.76	16.39
German American Bancorp	$298.84 million	4.91	$83.81 million	$2.63	14.88

German American Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Heartland BancCorp.. German American Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Heartland BancCorp., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

German American Bancorp beats Heartland BancCorp. on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Heartland BancCorp.

Heartland BancCorp operates as the bank holding company for Heartland Bank that provides various banking and financial services to individual and corporate customers. The company offers personal and business checking and savings accounts. It also provides various lending solutions comprising agricultural loans, commercial and business lending, home and personal loans, and title services. In addition, the company offers online banking, treasury management, credit and debit card, and mobile wallet services. Further, it provides education planning, insurance, wealth management, and retirement planning services. Heartland BancCorp was founded in 1911 and is based in Whitehall, Ohio.

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.