Critical Review: Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) versus Peoples Financial (OTCMKTS:PFBX)

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) and Peoples Financial (OTCMKTS:PFBX) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and risk.

Dividends

Towne Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Peoples Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Towne Bank pays out 54.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peoples Financial pays out 40.9% 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. Towne Bank has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Towne Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Towne Bank and Peoples Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Towne Bank	1	1	2	0	2.25
Peoples Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

Towne Bank presently has a consensus target price of $39.50, indicating a potential upside of 11.14%. Given Towne Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Towne Bank is more favorable than Peoples Financial.

Profitability

This table compares Towne Bank and Peoples Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Towne Bank	13.51%	9.91%	1.24%
Peoples Financial	11.31%	4.06%	0.53%

Volatility & Risk

Towne Bank has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peoples Financial has a beta of 0.2, meaning that its stock price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Towne Bank and Peoples Financial”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Towne Bank	$1.12 billion	2.51	$169.53 million	$1.98	17.95
Peoples Financial	$35.66 million	2.97	$3.91 million	$0.88	26.08

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

56.0% of Towne Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.8% of Peoples Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.1% of Towne Bank shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 28.1% of Peoples Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Towne Bank beats Peoples Financial on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Towne Bank

TowneBank provides retail and commercial banking services for individuals, commercial enterprises, and professionals. The company operates through three segments: Banking, Realty, and Insurance. It accepts various deposits, including demand deposits, savings accounts, money rate savings, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers secured and unsecured personal loans for financing automobiles, home improvements, education, and personal investments; commercial loans for working capital, business expansion, and equipment and machinery purchases; and mortgage loans, as well as real estate acquisition, development, and construction loans. In addition, it provides other services, such as safe deposit boxes, treasury management services, direct deposit of payroll and social security checks, and automatic drafts for various accounts, as well as online, mobile, and on-call banking services. Further, the company offers documentation services to accomplish tax deferral to investors; investment and asset management services; commercial mortgage brokerage services; and other financial services, such as financial, retirement, and estate planning services, as well as assistance on various investment options comprising alternative investments, annuities, margin accounts, convertible bonds, and pension and profit-sharing plans. Additionally, it provides residential real estate, relocation, property management, vacation rentals, and title and settlement services; and originates residential mortgage loans. The company also offers life, property, casualty, and vehicle insurance services; and employee benefit programs, such as health, dental, vision, and disability insurance. It operates in Richmond, Virginia, the Greater Hampton Roads region in southeastern Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, and Greenville, North Carolina. TowneBank was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Portsmouth, Virginia.

About Peoples Financial

Peoples Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for The Peoples Bank that provides banking, financial, and trust services to government entities, individuals, and small and commercial businesses in Mississippi. The company accepts various deposits, such as interest and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). It offers business, commercial, real estate, construction, personal, and installment loans; and personal trust, agencies, and estate services, including living and testamentary trusts, executorships, guardianships, and conservatorships. In addition, the company provides self-directed IRAs; and escrow management, stock transfer, and bond paying agency accounts to corporate customers. Further, it offers other services consisting of safe deposit box rental, wire transfer, night drop facilities, collection, cash management, and Internet banking services. the company provides services to customers of various industries, such as seafood, retail, hospitality, hotel/motel, gaming, and construction. Peoples Financial Corporation was founded in 1896 and is headquartered in Biloxi, Mississippi.