Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO – Get Free Report) and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
45.8% of Bank Of Montreal shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.8% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Bank Of Montreal shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.5% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Bank Of Montreal and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Bank Of Montreal | 11.72% | 13.60% | 0.71% |
| Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina | 18.93% | 13.84% | 1.27% |
Dividends
Bank Of Montreal pays an annual dividend of $4.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Bank Of Montreal pays out 54.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays out 20.9% 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. Bank Of Montreal has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Bank Of Montreal is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Bank Of Montreal and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Bank Of Montreal | $55.92 billion | 2.15 | $6.22 billion | $8.86 | 19.62 |
| Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina | $78.94 million | 3.06 | $19.83 million | $4.02 | 11.01 |
Bank Of Montreal has higher revenue and earnings than Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina 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.
Risk and Volatility
Bank Of Montreal has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a beta of 0.31, indicating that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Bank Of Montreal and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Bank Of Montreal | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2.38 |
| Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.00 |
Bank Of Montreal presently has a consensus price target of $244.00, indicating a potential upside of 40.38%. Given Bank Of Montreal’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Bank Of Montreal is more favorable than Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina.
Summary
Bank Of Montreal beats Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Bank Of Montreal
Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. It operates through Canadian P&C, U.S P&C, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital Markets segments. The company’s personal banking products and services include deposits, mortgages, home lending, consumer credit, small business lending, credit cards, cash management, financial and investment advice, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services comprise various of financing options and treasury and payment solutions, as well as risk management products. It also offers investing, banking, and wealth management advisory; digital investing services; financial solutions for individuals, families, and businesses; provides investment management services to institutional, retail, and high net worth investors; and diversified insurance, and wealth and pension de-risking solutions. In addition, the company provides individual life, critical illness and annuity products, as well as segregated funds, and group creditor and travel insurance to customers; debt and equity capital-raising, loan origination and syndication, balance sheet management, treasury management, mergers and acquisitions advice, restructurings and recapitalizations, trade finance, and risk mitigation services, as well as a range of banking and other operating services. Further, the company offers research and access to financial markets for institutional, corporate and retail clients through an integrated suite of sales and trading solutions related to debt, foreign exchange, interest rates, credit, equities, securitization, and commodities; provides new product development and origination services, as well as risk management and advisory services for hedging strategies, including in interest rates, foreign exchange rates and commodities prices; and funding and liquidity management services. The company was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
About Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and small-to medium-sized businesses. It offers checking, savings, money market, and retirement accounts; certificates of deposits; and credit and debit cards. The company also originates commercial real estate loans, commercial loans, construction and land development loans, and residential mortgage loans; and individual taxpayer identification number mortgage loans, as well as agricultural loans. In addition, it provides investment counseling and non-deposit investment products, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, tax deferred annuities, and related brokerage services; and real estate appraisal and brokerage services. Further, the company operates as a clearing-house for the provision of appraisal services for community banks; and acquires, manages, and disposes real property, other collateral, and other assets obtained in the ordinary course of collecting debts. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Newton, North Carolina.
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