Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) and Jefferson Security Bank (OTCMKTS:JFWV) Head-To-Head Analysis

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO – Get Rating) and Jefferson Security Bank (OTCMKTS:JFWV – Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Bank of Montreal and Jefferson Security Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of Montreal	22.13%	13.65%	0.79%
Jefferson Security Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Bank of Montreal and Jefferson Security Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of Montreal	1	2	3	0	2.33
Jefferson Security Bank	0	0	0	0	N/A

Bank of Montreal presently has a consensus target price of $152.70, indicating a potential upside of 84.22%. Given Bank of Montreal’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Bank of Montreal is more favorable than Jefferson Security Bank.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

42.8% of Bank of Montreal shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Bank of Montreal shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Bank of Montreal has a beta of 1.14, suggesting that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Jefferson Security Bank has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Bank of Montreal and Jefferson Security Bank’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank of Montreal	$27.55 billion	2.15	$10.52 billion	$12.26	6.76
Jefferson Security Bank	N/A	N/A	$3.90 million	$14.01	5.07

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

Dividends

Bank of Montreal pays an annual dividend of $4.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Jefferson Security Bank pays an annual dividend of $2.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Bank of Montreal pays out 34.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Jefferson Security Bank pays out 16.4% 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.

Summary

Bank of Montreal beats Jefferson Security Bank on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank of Montreal

(Get Rating)

Bank of Montreal engages in the provision of banking and financial services to individuals and institutions. It operates through the following segments: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking (Canadian P&C) and United States Personal and Commercial Banking (U.S. P&C). The Canadian P&C segment refers to retail banking and financial operations in Canada. The U.S. P&C segment offers retail banking and financial solutions in United States. The company was founded by Robert Armour, John C. Bush, Austin Cuvillier, George Garden, Horatio Gates, James Leslie, George Moffatt, John Richardson and Thomas A. Turner on June 23, 1817 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Jefferson Security Bank

(Get Rating)

Jefferson Security Bank is an independent community bank, which engages in the provision of banking services. Its services include deposit accounts, electronic banking, and loans. The company was founded on May 19, 1869 and is headquartered in Shepherdstown, WV.