Critical Contrast: Mid Penn Bancorp (NASDAQ:MPB) vs. Camden National (NASDAQ:CAC)

Mid Penn Bancorp (NASDAQ:MPB) and Camden National (NASDAQ:CAC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Mid Penn Bancorp and Camden National”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mid Penn Bancorp	$350.61 million	2.39	$56.25 million	$2.20	15.02
Camden National	$373.18 million	2.33	$65.16 million	$4.70	10.91

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

Profitability

This table compares Mid Penn Bancorp and Camden National’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mid Penn Bancorp	13.95%	8.31%	1.06%
Camden National	21.32%	11.78%	1.16%

Dividends

Mid Penn Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Camden National pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Mid Penn Bancorp pays out 40.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Camden National pays out 35.7% 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. Camden National is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

43.1% of Mid Penn Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.4% of Camden National shares are held by institutional investors. 7.2% of Mid Penn Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Camden National 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Mid Penn Bancorp and Camden National, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mid Penn Bancorp	0	1	1	0	2.50
Camden National	0	4	2	0	2.33

Mid Penn Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $37.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.99%. Camden National has a consensus target price of $52.25, suggesting a potential upside of 1.87%. Given Mid Penn Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Mid Penn Bancorp is more favorable than Camden National.

Volatility & Risk

Mid Penn Bancorp has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Camden National has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Camden National beats Mid Penn Bancorp on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mid Penn Bancorp

Mid Penn Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Mid Penn Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals, partnerships, non-profit organizations, and corporations. The company offers various time and demand deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, clubs, money market deposit accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. It also provides a range of loan products comprising mortgage and home equity loans, secured and unsecured commercial and consumer loans, lines of credit, construction financing, farm loans, community development loans, loans to non-profit entities, and local government loans. In addition, the company offers trust, retail investment, wealth management, and insurance services; and provides online banking, telephone banking, cash management, and automated teller services, as well as safe deposit boxes. The company was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

About Camden National

Camden National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Camden National Bank that provides various commercial and consumer banking products and services for consumer, institutional, municipal, non-profit, and commercial customers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. The company accepts checking, savings, time, and brokered deposits, as well as deposits with the certificate of deposit account registry system. Its loan products include non-owner-occupied commercial estate loans, owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, unsecured fully-guaranteed commercial loans backed by the small business administration, loans secured by one-to four-family properties, and consumer and home equity loans. The company also provides brokerage and insurance services through its financial offerings consisting of college, retirement, estate planning, mutual funds, strategic asset management accounts, and variable and fixed annuities. Further, it offers a range of fiduciary and asset management, wealth management, investment management, financial planning, and trustee services. Camden National Corporation was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Camden, Maine.