Analyzing Jeffersonville Bancorp (OTCMKTS:JFBC) and Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) and Jeffersonville Bancorp (OTCMKTS:JFBC) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Dividends

Westamerica Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Jeffersonville Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Westamerica Bancorporation pays out 29.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Jeffersonville Bancorp pays out 24.2% 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. Westamerica Bancorporation has raised its dividend for 32 consecutive years. Jeffersonville Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Westamerica Bancorporation and Jeffersonville Bancorp’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westamerica Bancorporation	$327.54 million	4.46	$161.77 million	$5.92	9.24
Jeffersonville Bancorp	$32.18 million	N/A	$11.18 million	$2.48	7.21

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

Profitability

This table compares Westamerica Bancorporation and Jeffersonville Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westamerica Bancorporation	47.12%	20.70%	2.36%
Jeffersonville Bancorp	N/A	13.02%	1.53%

Risk and Volatility

Westamerica Bancorporation has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Jeffersonville Bancorp has a beta of 0.34, meaning that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Westamerica Bancorporation and Jeffersonville Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westamerica Bancorporation	0	2	0	0	2.00
Jeffersonville Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

Westamerica Bancorporation presently has a consensus price target of $57.00, suggesting a potential upside of 4.15%. Given Westamerica Bancorporation’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Westamerica Bancorporation is more favorable than Jeffersonville Bancorp.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

81.9% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are held by institutional investors. 4.4% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.4% of Jeffersonville Bancorp shares are held by 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.

Summary

Westamerica Bancorporation beats Jeffersonville Bancorp on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Westamerica Bancorporation

Westamerica Bancorporation operates as a bank holding company for the Westamerica Bank that provides various banking products and services to individual and commercial customers. The company accepts various deposit products, including retail savings and checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio includes commercial, commercial and residential real estate, real estate construction, and consumer installment loans, as well as indirect automobile loans. The company was formerly known as Independent Bankshares Corporation and changed its name to Westamerica Bancorporation in 1983. The company was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in San Rafael, California.

About Jeffersonville Bancorp

Jeffersonville Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Jeff Bank that provides community banking services to individuals, small businesses, and local municipal governments primarily in Sullivan County, New York. The company offers various deposit products, such as checking, money market, savings, and NOW, as well as demand and time deposits. It also offers commercial mortgage, farmland, construction, real estate, agricultural, residential mortgage, home equity, consumer, installment, and other consumer loans. The company was founded in 1913 and is based in Jeffersonville, New York.