Financial Review: Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach (OTCMKTS:FMBL) versus Grupo Financiero Galicia (NASDAQ:GGAL)

Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach (OTCMKTS:FMBL – Get Rating) and Grupo Financiero Galicia (NASDAQ:GGAL – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach and Grupo Financiero Galicia’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach	$358.80 million	1.86	$109.00 million	$809.87	6.86
Grupo Financiero Galicia	$692.64 billion	0.00	$374.52 million	N/A	N/A

Grupo Financiero Galicia has higher revenue and earnings than Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach.

Dividends

Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach pays an annual dividend of $112.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Grupo Financiero Galicia pays an annual dividend of $0.07 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach pays out 13.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Volatility and Risk

Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Grupo Financiero Galicia has a beta of 1.6, meaning that its stock price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach and Grupo Financiero Galicia, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach	0	0	0	0	N/A
Grupo Financiero Galicia	0	1	1	0	2.50

Grupo Financiero Galicia has a consensus price target of $21.30, suggesting a potential upside of 84.74%. Given Grupo Financiero Galicia’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Grupo Financiero Galicia is more favorable than Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

8.0% of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.9% of Grupo Financiero Galicia shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.8% of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach and Grupo Financiero Galicia’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach	27.08%	7.94%	0.86%
Grupo Financiero Galicia	3.75%	9.89%	1.83%

Summary

Grupo Financiero Galicia beats Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach

(Get Rating)

Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach engages in the provision of personal and business banking services. The firm offers business checking, money market, and investment accounts, merchant card services, and small business, real estate, construction, commercial, church, and nonprofit loans. It also provides personal checking, personal money market, and personal savings accounts, as well as personal and home loans. The company was founded by Charles J. Walker on October 12, 1907 and is headquartered in Long Beach, CA.

About Grupo Financiero Galicia

(Get Rating)

Grupo Financiero Galicia SA is a holding company, which engages in banking, insurance, and the issuance of certificates of deposit through its subsidiaries. It operates through the following segments: Banks, Ecosistema Naranja X, Insurance, Other Businesses, and Adjustments. The Banks segment includes the banking business operation results. The Ecosistema Naranja X segment represents the brand credit cards, consumer finance, and digital banking services business. The Insurance segment consists of insurance firms business and Sudamericana Holding SA. The Other Businesses segment refers to equity investments. The Adjustments segment relates to consolidation adjustments and eliminations of transactions among subsidiaries. The company was founded on September 14, 1999 and is headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina.