Head-To-Head Review: Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) & John Marshall Bancorp (NASDAQ:JMSB)

John Marshall Bancorp (NASDAQ:JMSB) and Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares John Marshall Bancorp and Towne Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
John Marshall Bancorp	19.27%	8.60%	0.97%
Towne Bank	13.51%	9.91%	1.24%

Risk and Volatility

John Marshall Bancorp has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Towne Bank has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

39.1% of John Marshall Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.0% of Towne Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.6% of John Marshall Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.1% of Towne Bank shares are owned by company 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for John Marshall Bancorp and Towne Bank, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
John Marshall Bancorp	0	1	2	1	3.00
Towne Bank	0	2	2	0	2.50

John Marshall Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $24.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.89%. Towne Bank has a consensus price target of $39.50, indicating a potential upside of 10.34%. Given Towne Bank’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Towne Bank is more favorable than John Marshall Bancorp.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares John Marshall Bancorp and Towne Bank”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
John Marshall Bancorp	$115.33 million	2.67	$21.23 million	$1.59	13.74
Towne Bank	$1.12 billion	2.53	$169.53 million	$1.98	18.08

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

Dividends

John Marshall Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Towne Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. John Marshall Bancorp pays out 22.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Towne Bank pays out 56.6% 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. Towne Bank has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Towne Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Towne Bank beats John Marshall Bancorp on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About John Marshall Bancorp

John Marshall Bancorp, Inc. is the bank holding company for John Marshall Bank. The Bank is headquartered in Reston, Virginia with eight full-service branches located in Alexandria, Arlington, Loudoun, Prince William, Reston, and Tysons, Virginia, as well as Rockville, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The Bank is dedicated to providing exceptional value, personalized service and convenience to local businesses and professionals in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. The Bank offers a comprehensive line of sophisticated banking products and services that rival those of the largest banks along with experienced staff to help achieve customers’ financial goals. Dedicated relationship managers serve as direct points-of-contact, providing subject matter expertise in a variety of niche industries including charter and private schools, government contractors, health services, nonprofits and associations, professional services, property management companies and title companies

About Towne Bank

TowneBank provides retail and commercial banking services for individuals, commercial enterprises, and professionals. The company operates through three segments: Banking, Realty, and Insurance. It accepts various deposits, including demand deposits, savings accounts, money rate savings, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers secured and unsecured personal loans for financing automobiles, home improvements, education, and personal investments; commercial loans for working capital, business expansion, and equipment and machinery purchases; and mortgage loans, as well as real estate acquisition, development, and construction loans. In addition, it provides other services, such as safe deposit boxes, treasury management services, direct deposit of payroll and social security checks, and automatic drafts for various accounts, as well as online, mobile, and on-call banking services. Further, the company offers documentation services to accomplish tax deferral to investors; investment and asset management services; commercial mortgage brokerage services; and other financial services, such as financial, retirement, and estate planning services, as well as assistance on various investment options comprising alternative investments, annuities, margin accounts, convertible bonds, and pension and profit-sharing plans. Additionally, it provides residential real estate, relocation, property management, vacation rentals, and title and settlement services; and originates residential mortgage loans. The company also offers life, property, casualty, and vehicle insurance services; and employee benefit programs, such as health, dental, vision, and disability insurance. It operates in Richmond, Virginia, the Greater Hampton Roads region in southeastern Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, and Greenville, North Carolina. TowneBank was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Portsmouth, Virginia.