Contrasting JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB)

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Independent Bank and JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Independent Bank	20.31%	9.19%	1.31%
JPMorgan Chase & Co.	21.86%	18.23%	1.33%

Risk & Volatility

Independent Bank has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Independent Bank and JPMorgan Chase & Co., as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Independent Bank	1	1	4	1	2.71
JPMorgan Chase & Co.	0	11	16	1	2.64

Independent Bank currently has a consensus price target of $91.86, indicating a potential upside of 10.45%. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a consensus price target of $359.96, indicating a potential upside of 0.23%. Given Independent Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Independent Bank is more favorable than JPMorgan Chase & Co..

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.4% of Independent Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.6% of JPMorgan Chase & Co. shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Independent Bank shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of JPMorgan Chase & Co. shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Independent Bank and JPMorgan Chase & Co.”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Independent Bank	$1.17 billion	3.36	$205.12 million	$5.54	15.01
JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$280.35 billion	3.41	$57.05 billion	$23.34	15.39

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

Dividends

Independent Bank pays an annual dividend of $2.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. JPMorgan Chase & Co. pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Independent Bank pays out 46.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. JPMorgan Chase & Co. pays out 25.7% 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. Independent Bank has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years and JPMorgan Chase & Co. has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years.

Summary

JPMorgan Chase & Co. beats Independent Bank on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Rockland Trust Company that provides commercial banking products and services to individuals and small-to-medium sized businesses in the United States. The company provides interest checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as demand deposits and time certificates of deposit. It offers commercial real estate and construction, commercial and industrial, small business, secured and unsecured commercial, and consumer real estate loans; term loans and revolving/nonrevolving lines of credit; overdraft protection and letters of credit; and residential mortgages and home equity loans and lines. In addition, the company provides cash management services, such as ACH transaction processing, positive pay, and remote deposit services; investment management and trust services to individuals, institutions, small businesses, and charitable institutions; mobile, online, and telephone banking; estate settlement, financial planning, tax services, and other services; automated teller machines; debit and credit cards; and mutual fund and unit investment trust shares, third party model portfolios, general securities, fixed and variable annuities, and life insurance products, as well as advisory platforms. Further, it invests in low-income housing tax credit projects; holds, maintains, and disposes foreclosed properties; and operates as an investment advisor. Independent Bank Corp. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Rockland, Massachusetts.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of financial and investment banking services. It focuses on investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. It operates through the following segments: Consumer and Community Banking (CCB), Commercial and Investment Bank (CIB), Asset and Wealth Management (AWM), and Corporate. The CCB segment originates and services mortgage loans. The CIB segment makes markets and services clients across fixed income, foreign exchange, equities, and commodities. The AWM segment provides initial capital investments in products such as mutual funds and capital invested alongside third-party investors. The Corporate segment manages its liquidity, funding, capital, structural interest rate, and foreign exchange risks. The company was founded in 1799 and is headquartered in New York, NY.