Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB – Get Free Report) and Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.
Dividends
Independent Bank pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Columbia Banking System pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.9%. Independent Bank pays out 36.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Columbia Banking System pays out 63.7% 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 12 consecutive years and Columbia Banking System has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
80.5% of Independent Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.7% of Columbia Banking System shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Independent Bank shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Columbia Banking System shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk & Volatility
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Independent Bank and Columbia Banking System, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Independent Bank | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Columbia Banking System | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2.50 |
Independent Bank currently has a consensus target price of $84.00, indicating a potential upside of 48.70%. Columbia Banking System has a consensus target price of $25.17, indicating a potential upside of 20.59%. Given Independent Bank’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Independent Bank is more favorable than Columbia Banking System.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Independent Bank and Columbia Banking System’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Independent Bank | $757.51 million | 3.29 | $263.81 million | $6.04 | 9.35 |
| Columbia Banking System | $1.61 billion | 2.70 | $250.18 million | $2.26 | 9.23 |
Independent Bank has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Columbia Banking System. Columbia Banking System is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Independent Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Independent Bank and Columbia Banking System’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Independent Bank | 31.75% | 9.58% | 1.40% |
| Columbia Banking System | 15.40% | 10.85% | 1.03% |
Summary
Independent Bank beats Columbia Banking System on 11 of the 18 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 primarily in Massachusetts. It accepts interest checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as demand deposits and time certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and construction, small business, and consumer real estate. In addition, it provides investment management and trust services to individuals, institutions, small businesses, and charitable institutions; Internet and mobile banking services, as well as estate settlement, financial planning, tax services, and other services; automated teller machine and debit cards; and mutual fund and unit investment trust shares, general securities, fixed and variable annuities, and life insurance products, as well as advisory platforms. The company was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Rockland, Massachusetts.
About Columbia Banking System
Columbia Banking System, Inc. operates as the holding company of Umpqua Bank that provides commercial and retail banking services. The company offers deposit products, including interest-bearing checking, savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts. It also provides home mortgages for purchases and refinances, home equity loans and lines of credit, and other personal loans; and agricultural loans, asset-based loans, builder and other commercial real estate loans, and loans guaranteed by the SBA, as well as offer a suite of business edge loans designed for small businesses to expand, purchase equipment, or in need of working capital. In addition, the company offers debit and credit cards, foreign currency, treasury management, merchant card services, international banking, private banking, trust and investment, and other financial services. It operates in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington states. The company serves high net worth individuals and families, select non-profits, and professional services firms. The company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.
Receive News & Ratings for Independent Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Independent Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
-logo.png&h=45&w=95&zc=2){kind=logo}