Comparing Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI) & ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS)

Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI) and ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

Acadian Asset Management has a beta of 1.32, suggesting that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ChoiceOne Financial Services has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Acadian Asset Management and ChoiceOne Financial Services”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Acadian Asset Management	$505.60 million	3.36	$85.00 million	$2.37	20.09
ChoiceOne Financial Services	$139.10 million	3.18	$26.73 million	$1.37	21.52

Acadian Asset Management has higher revenue and earnings than ChoiceOne Financial Services. Acadian Asset Management is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ChoiceOne Financial Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Acadian Asset Management pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. ChoiceOne Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Acadian Asset Management pays out 1.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ChoiceOne Financial Services pays out 84.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. ChoiceOne Financial Services has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. ChoiceOne Financial Services is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.7% of Acadian Asset Management shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.9% of ChoiceOne Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. 26.0% of Acadian Asset Management shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of ChoiceOne Financial Services shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Acadian Asset Management and ChoiceOne Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Acadian Asset Management	15.70%	166.57%	17.04%
ChoiceOne Financial Services	10.57%	11.52%	1.16%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Acadian Asset Management and ChoiceOne Financial Services, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Acadian Asset Management	0	4	1	0	2.20
ChoiceOne Financial Services	0	2	3	0	2.60

Acadian Asset Management currently has a consensus price target of $47.67, indicating a potential upside of 0.13%. ChoiceOne Financial Services has a consensus price target of $37.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.51%. Given ChoiceOne Financial Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ChoiceOne Financial Services is more favorable than Acadian Asset Management.

Summary

Acadian Asset Management beats ChoiceOne Financial Services on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Acadian Asset Management

Acadian Asset Management Inc. is a publically owned asset management holding company. The firm provides its services to individuals and institutions. It manages separate client focused portfolios through its subsidiaries. The firm also launches equity mutual funds for its clients. It invests in public equity, fixed income, and alternative investment markets through its subsidiaries. The firm was founded in 1980 is based Boston, Massachusetts. It was formally known as BrightSphere Investment Group plc. BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. was formed in 1980 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts.

About ChoiceOne Financial Services

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for ChoiceOne Bank that provides banking services to corporations, partnerships, and individuals in Michigan. The company offers various deposit products, including time, savings, and demand deposits, safe deposit, and automated transaction machine services. It also provides commercial lending products, such as business, industry, agricultural, construction, inventory, and real estate loans; and consumer loans comprising direct and indirect loans to consumers and purchasers of residential and real properties. In addition, the company offers alternative investment products, which include annuities and mutual funds; and sells insurance policies, such as life and health for commercial and consumer clients. Further, it provides trust and wealth management services. ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Sparta, Michigan.