Comparing Princeton Bancorp (NASDAQ:BPRN) and Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB)

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) and Princeton Bancorp (NASDAQ:BPRN) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Independent Bank pays an annual dividend of $2.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Princeton Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Independent Bank pays out 57.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Princeton Bancorp pays out 54.5% 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. Independent Bank has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Princeton Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility & Risk

Independent Bank has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Princeton Bancorp has a beta of 0.53, suggesting that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Independent Bank and Princeton Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Independent Bank	0	4	1	1	2.50
Princeton Bancorp	0	2	0	1	2.67

Independent Bank presently has a consensus price target of $76.80, suggesting a potential upside of 4.50%. Princeton Bancorp has a consensus price target of $35.00, suggesting a potential downside of 1.07%. Given Independent Bank’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Independent Bank is more favorable than Princeton Bancorp.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.4% of Independent Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.4% of Princeton Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Independent Bank shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 21.9% of Princeton Bancorp shares are held by 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.

Profitability

This table compares Independent Bank and Princeton Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Independent Bank	16.64%	7.19%	1.08%
Princeton Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Independent Bank and Princeton Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Independent Bank	$773.81 million	4.71	$192.08 million	$4.11	17.88
Princeton Bancorp	$131.10 million	1.82	$17.37 million	$2.57	13.77

Independent Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Princeton Bancorp. Princeton Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Independent Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Independent Bank beats Princeton Bancorp on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Rockland Trust Company that provides commercial banking products and services to individuals and small-to-medium sized businesses in the United States. The company provides interest checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as demand deposits and time certificates of deposit. It offers commercial real estate and construction, commercial and industrial, small business, secured and unsecured commercial, and consumer real estate loans; term loans and revolving/nonrevolving lines of credit; overdraft protection and letters of credit; and residential mortgages and home equity loans and lines. In addition, the company provides cash management services, such as ACH transaction processing, positive pay, and remote deposit services; investment management and trust services to individuals, institutions, small businesses, and charitable institutions; mobile, online, and telephone banking; estate settlement, financial planning, tax services, and other services; automated teller machines; debit and credit cards; and mutual fund and unit investment trust shares, third party model portfolios, general securities, fixed and variable annuities, and life insurance products, as well as advisory platforms. Further, it invests in low-income housing tax credit projects; holds, maintains, and disposes foreclosed properties; and operates as an investment advisor. Independent Bank Corp. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Rockland, Massachusetts.

About Princeton Bancorp

Princeton Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for The Bank of Princeton that provides various banking products and services. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, attorney trust, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also offers traditional retail banking services, one-to-four-family residential mortgage loans, multi-family and commercial mortgage loans, construction loans, and commercial business loans, as well as consumer loans, including home equity loans and lines of credit. In addition, it provides debit and credit cards, and money orders, direct deposit, automated teller machines, cashier's checks, safe deposit boxes, online banking, wire transfers, night depository, remote deposit capture, bank-by-mail, online, and automated telephone banking services, as well as payroll-related services and merchant credit card processing services. Further, the company offers full on-line statements, on-line bill payment, account inquiries, mobile banking, transaction histories and details, and account-to-account transfer services. Princeton Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.