Analyzing AmeriServ Financial (ASRV) & The Competition

AmeriServ Financial (NASDAQ:ASRV) is one of 131 publicly-traded companies in the “BANKS – NORTHEAST” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare AmeriServ Financial to similar companies based on the strength of its dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

31.5% of AmeriServ Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.6% of shares of all “BANKS – NORTHEAST” companies are held by institutional investors. 7.6% of AmeriServ Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.9% of shares of all “BANKS – NORTHEAST” companies are held by 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.

Dividends

AmeriServ Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. AmeriServ Financial pays out 35.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “BANKS – NORTHEAST” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.4% and pay out 30.0% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares AmeriServ Financial and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AmeriServ Financial	6.35%	4.93%	0.39%
AmeriServ Financial Competitors	14.38%	9.03%	0.95%

Risk and Volatility

AmeriServ Financial has a beta of 0.44, meaning that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AmeriServ Financial’s competitors have a beta of 0.48, meaning that their average share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for AmeriServ Financial and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AmeriServ Financial	0	0	1	0	3.00
AmeriServ Financial Competitors	680	3238	2520	166	2.33

As a group, “BANKS – NORTHEAST” companies have a potential upside of 3.89%. Given AmeriServ Financial’s competitors higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe AmeriServ Financial has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares AmeriServ Financial and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
AmeriServ Financial	$88.34 million	$5.61 million	11.59
AmeriServ Financial Competitors	$471.94 million	$72.56 million	6.68

AmeriServ Financial’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than AmeriServ Financial. AmeriServ Financial is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

AmeriServ Financial competitors beat AmeriServ Financial on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

AmeriServ Financial Company Profile

AmeriServ Financial, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of consumer, mortgage and commercial financial products and services through its subsidiary. It operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Wealth Management, and Investment or Parent. The Community Banking segment includes both retail and commercial banking activities. The Wealth Management segment involves in the operations of a Trust Company, West Chester Capital Advisors an investment advisory firm, and Financial Services. The Investment or Parent segment offers investment securities, borrowing activities, and general corporate expenses. The company was founded in January 1983 and is headquartered in Johnstown, PA.