Contrasting BEO Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BEOB) and Bank of Marin Bancorp (NASDAQ:BMRC)

BEO Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BEOB) and Bank of Marin Bancorp (NASDAQ:BMRC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

52.3% of Bank of Marin Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.1% of Bank of Marin Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for BEO Bancorp and Bank of Marin Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BEO Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Bank of Marin Bancorp	0	2	3	1	2.83

Bank of Marin Bancorp has a consensus price target of $28.40, indicating a potential upside of 10.61%. Given Bank of Marin Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Bank of Marin Bancorp is more favorable than BEO Bancorp.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares BEO Bancorp and Bank of Marin Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BEO Bancorp	$57.76 million	2.14	$16.49 million	N/A	N/A
Bank of Marin Bancorp	$93.05 million	4.44	-$8.41 million	$0.62	41.41

BEO Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Bank of Marin Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares BEO Bancorp and Bank of Marin Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BEO Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A
Bank of Marin Bancorp	6.22%	5.27%	0.62%

Risk and Volatility

BEO Bancorp has a beta of 0.27, suggesting that its stock price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank of Marin Bancorp has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

BEO Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Bank of Marin Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Bank of Marin Bancorp pays out 161.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

Bank of Marin Bancorp beats BEO Bancorp on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BEO Bancorp

BEO Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Bank of Eastern Oregon that provides commercial and consumer financing, banking and mortgage lending, and other services in Northeastern Oregon and Southeastern Washington. The company offers checking, money market, time deposits, and savings accounts; and certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial, agricultural, real estate, installment, credit card, mortgage, term, home, construction, farm, and refinancing loans; lines of credit; home enhancement loan programs; Internet banking and bill payment services; business sweep and banking services; and automated teller machines and safe deposit facilities, as well as originates and sells mortgage loans into the secondary market. The company was founded in 1945 and is based in Heppner, Oregon.

About Bank of Marin Bancorp

Bank of Marin Bancorp operates as the holding company for Bank of Marin that provides a range of financial services primarily to small to medium-sized businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and commercial real estate investors in the United States. The company offers personal and business checking and savings accounts; and individual retirement, health savings, and demand deposit marketplace accounts, as well as time certificates of deposit, certificate of deposit account registry, and insured cash sweep services. It also provides commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, and consumer loans, as well as construction financing and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company offers merchant and payroll services; commercial equipment leasing program; payment solutions; treasury management services; credit cards; and mobile deposit, remote deposit capture, automated clearing house, wire transfer, and image lockbox services. Further, it provides wealth management and trust services comprising customized investment portfolio management, financial planning, trust administration, estate settlement, and custody services, as well as 401(k) plan services; and automated teller machines, and telephone and digital banking services. The company was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Novato, California.