Lifestore Financial Group (OTCMKTS:LSFG – Get Rating) and Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.
Risk and Volatility
Lifestore Financial Group has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westamerica Bancorporation has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Lifestore Financial Group and Westamerica Bancorporation, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Lifestore Financial Group | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Westamerica Bancorporation | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Profitability
This table compares Lifestore Financial Group and Westamerica Bancorporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Lifestore Financial Group | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Westamerica Bancorporation | 47.95% | 23.10% | 1.98% |
Dividends
Lifestore Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Westamerica Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Westamerica Bancorporation pays out 32.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
76.7% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are held by institutional investors. 12.2% of Lifestore Financial Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Lifestore Financial Group and Westamerica Bancorporation’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Lifestore Financial Group | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Westamerica Bancorporation | $289.80 million | 3.51 | $122.03 million | $5.20 | 7.26 |
Westamerica Bancorporation has higher revenue and earnings than Lifestore Financial Group.
Summary
Westamerica Bancorporation beats Lifestore Financial Group on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Lifestore Financial Group
LifeStore Financial Group, Inc. operates as a federally chartered thrift holding company for LifeStore Bank that provides personal and business banking products and services in North Carolina. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; mortgage loans, automobile loans, home equity lines of credit, commercial real estate loans, commercial construction loans, investment property loans, equipment loans, working capital loans/lines of credit, and small business administration loans; and credit cards. It also provides insurance agency products and services; investment and cash management services; and online and mobile banking services. The company was formerly known as AF Financial Group and changed its name to LifeStore Financial Group, Inc. in September 2009. LifeStore Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in West Jefferson, North Carolina. Lifestore Financial Group, Inc. is a subsidiary of AsheCo MHC, Inc.
About Westamerica Bancorporation
Westamerica Bancorporation operates as a bank holding company. It provides range of banking services to individual and corporate customers in Northern and Central California. It offers loans and lines of credit, online services, mobile banking, checking, savings, credit cards, cash management, overdraft services, merchant services, professional banking, bank owned property, preventing business loans, payroll services, and trust services. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in San Rafael, CA.
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