Head-To-Head Contrast: Eagle Bancorp (NASDAQ:EGBN) vs. Auburn National Bancorporation (NASDAQ:AUBN)

Eagle Bancorp (NASDAQ:EGBN) and Auburn National Bancorporation (NASDAQ:AUBN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

Eagle Bancorp has a beta of 1.09, meaning that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Auburn National Bancorporation has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Eagle Bancorp and Auburn National Bancorporation, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eagle Bancorp	0	2	0	0	2.00
Auburn National Bancorporation	0	0	0	0	N/A

Eagle Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $24.50, suggesting a potential upside of 5.24%. Given Eagle Bancorp’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Eagle Bancorp is more favorable than Auburn National Bancorporation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Eagle Bancorp and Auburn National Bancorporation”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eagle Bancorp	$307.92 million	2.28	$100.53 million	$2.51	9.27
Auburn National Bancorporation	$22.92 million	3.10	$1.39 million	$0.23	88.48

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

Profitability

This table compares Eagle Bancorp and Auburn National Bancorporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eagle Bancorp	-5.28%	5.50%	0.59%
Auburn National Bancorporation	1.80%	0.85%	0.06%

Dividends

Eagle Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Auburn National Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Eagle Bancorp pays out 26.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Auburn National Bancorporation pays out 469.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Auburn National Bancorporation has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Auburn National Bancorporation is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.0% of Eagle Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.5% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are held by institutional investors. 3.1% of Eagle Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 24.4% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Eagle Bancorp beats Auburn National Bancorporation on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eagle Bancorp

Eagle Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for EagleBank that provides commercial and consumer banking services primarily in the United States. The company also offers various commercial and consumer lending products comprising commercial loans for working capital, equipment purchases, real estate lines of credit, and government contract financing; asset based lending and accounts receivable financing; construction and commercial real estate loans; business equipment financing; consumer home equity lines of credit, personal lines of credit, and term loans; consumer installment loans, such as auto and personal loans; personal credit cards; and residential mortgage loans. In addition, it provides online and mobile banking services; checking and saving accounts; and other deposit services, including cash management services, business sweep accounts, lock boxes, remote deposit captures, account reconciliation services, merchant card services, safety deposit boxes, and automated clearing house origination, as well as after-hours depositories and ATM services. Further, the company offers insurance products and services through a referral program; and treasury management services. The company serves sole proprietors, small and medium-sized businesses, partnerships, corporations, and non-profit organizations and associations, as well as investors. Eagle Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.

About Auburn National Bancorporation

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for AuburnBank that provides various banking products and services in East Alabama. The company offers checking, savings, and transaction deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial, financial, agricultural, real estate construction, and consumer loan products; and other financial services. In addition, the company offers automated teller services; debit cards; online banking, bill payment, and other electronic banking services; and safe deposit boxes. Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Auburn, Alabama.