Analyzing Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) and Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO)

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) and Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

57.1% of Hilltop shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.7% of Peoples Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 29.3% of Hilltop shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of Peoples Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Hilltop and Peoples Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hilltop	$1.61 billion	1.26	$113.21 million	$1.74	17.89
Peoples Bancorp	$620.14 million	1.82	$117.21 million	$3.31	9.60

Peoples Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Hilltop. Peoples Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hilltop, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Hilltop and Peoples Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hilltop	7.04%	5.18%	0.71%
Peoples Bancorp	18.90%	11.07%	1.31%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Hilltop and Peoples Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hilltop	1	2	0	0	1.67
Peoples Bancorp	0	3	2	0	2.40

Hilltop presently has a consensus price target of $34.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.24%. Peoples Bancorp has a consensus price target of $36.90, indicating a potential upside of 16.11%. Given Peoples Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Peoples Bancorp is more favorable than Hilltop.

Volatility & Risk

Hilltop has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peoples Bancorp has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Hilltop pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Peoples Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Hilltop pays out 41.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peoples Bancorp pays out 48.3% 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.

Summary

Peoples Bancorp beats Hilltop on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings Inc. provides business and consumer banking services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, term, agricultural and commercial real estate, equipment loans, and other lending products; and mortgage, commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance. It also provides treasury management, asset management, check cards, safe deposit boxes, online banking, bill pay, and overdraft privilege services; and estate planning, management and administration, investment portfolio management, employee benefit accounts, and individual retirement accounts services, as well as automated teller machines. The Broker-Dealer segment offers public finance services that assist public entities in originating, syndicating, and distributing securities of municipalities and political subdivisions; specialized advisory and investment banking services; advice and guidance to arbitrage rebate compliance, portfolio management, and local government investment pool administration; advisory services and products for derivatives and commodities; agricultural insurance; and sells, trades in, and underwrites U.S. government and government agency bonds, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds; mortgage-backed, asset-backed, and commercial mortgage-backed securities and structured products; and provides asset and liability management advisory, clearing, retail, and securities lending services. The Mortgage Origination segment offers fixed and adjustable rate mortgages, jumbo, new construction, Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs, and United States Department of Agriculture loans. Hilltop Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

About Peoples Bancorp

Peoples Bancorp Inc. operates as the holding company for Peoples Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and governmental deposits; and provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, construction, finance, residential real estate, and consumer indirect and direct loans, as well as home equity lines of credit and overdrafts. It also offers debit and automated teller machine (ATM) cards; safe deposit rental facilities; money orders and cashier’s checks; and telephone, mobile, and online banking services. In addition, the company provides various life, health, and property and casualty insurance products; third-party insurance administration; interactive teller machines; insurance premium financing; check deposit and alert notification; commercial and technology equipment leasing; fiduciary and trust; underwriting, origination, and servicing of equipment leases, and equipment financing agreements; and asset management and administration services, as well as employee benefit, retirement, and health care plan administration services. Further, it offers brokerage services through an unaffiliated registered broker-dealers; insurance premium finance lending and leasing; and credit cards to individuals and businesses, as well as provides merchant credit card transaction processing, and person-to-person payment processing services. Peoples Bancorp Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Marietta, Ohio.