Jefferson Security Bank (OTCMKTS:JFWV) vs. Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Head to Head Analysis

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Jefferson Security Bank and Bank of Montreal, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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

Bank of Montreal has a consensus price target of $152.70, indicating a potential upside of 74.79%. Given Bank of Montreal’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Bank of Montreal is more favorable than Jefferson Security Bank.

Risk & Volatility

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

Profitability

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

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

Dividends

Jefferson Security Bank pays an annual dividend of $2.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Bank of Montreal pays an annual dividend of $4.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Jefferson Security Bank pays out 16.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank of Montreal pays out 34.5% 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.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Jefferson Security Bank	N/A	N/A	$3.90 million	$14.01	5.07
Bank of Montreal	$34.74 billion	1.79	$10.52 billion	$12.26	7.13

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.

Summary

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

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.

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.