Amalgamated Financial (NASDAQ:AMAL) versus Iowa First Bancshares (OTCMKTS:IOFB) Head-To-Head Contrast

Iowa First Bancshares (OTCMKTS:IOFB) and Amalgamated Financial (NASDAQ:AMAL) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Iowa First Bancshares and Amalgamated Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Iowa First Bancshares	0	0	0	0	N/A
Amalgamated Financial	0	0	3	0	3.00

Amalgamated Financial has a consensus target price of $29.50, suggesting a potential upside of 16.60%. Given Amalgamated Financial’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Amalgamated Financial is more favorable than Iowa First Bancshares.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Iowa First Bancshares and Amalgamated Financial’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Iowa First Bancshares	N/A	N/A	$2.50 million	N/A	N/A
Amalgamated Financial	$289.57 million	2.67	$87.98 million	$3.06	8.27

Amalgamated Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Iowa First Bancshares.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

75.9% of Amalgamated Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 12.8% of Iowa First Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Amalgamated Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Iowa First Bancshares and Amalgamated Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Iowa First Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A
Amalgamated Financial	23.22%	16.34%	1.17%

Summary

Amalgamated Financial beats Iowa First Bancshares on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Iowa First Bancshares

Iowa First Bancshares Corp. operates as the bank holding company for First National Bank of Muscatine and First National Bank in Fairfield that provide various banking products and services for individuals, businesses, and governmental organizations in Iowa. It offers checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts; and commercial and industrial, commercial real estate owner and non-owner occupied, agriculture, residential real estate, and consumer and other loans. The company also provides safe deposit, funds transmitting, trust, debit and credit card, Internet banking, automated teller machine, and other banking services. It operates through 4 locations in Muscatine and 2 locations in Fairfield, Iowa. The company was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa.

About Amalgamated Financial

Amalgamated Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Amalgamated Bank that provides commercial and retail banking, investment management, and trust and custody services for commercial and retail customers in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, including non-interest bearing accounts, interest-bearing demand products, savings accounts, money market accounts, NOW accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also provides various commercial loans comprising commercial and industrial, multifamily mortgage, and commercial real estate loans; residential mortgage loans; and retail loans, such as residential real estate, consumer solar, and consumer and other loans. In addition, the company offers online banking, bill payment, online cash management, and safe deposit box rental services; debit and ATM cards; and trust, custody, and investment management services comprising asset safekeeping, corporate actions, income collections, proxy, account transition, asset transfers, and conversion management services. Further, it provides investment products, such as funds spanning equity, fixed-income, real estate, and alternative investment products; and brokerage, asset management, and insurance products. Amalgamated Financial Corp. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in New York, New York.