Laurentian Bank of Canada (OTCMKTS:LRCDF) and Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) Financial Review

Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) and Laurentian Bank of Canada (OTCMKTS:LRCDF) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Hawthorn Bancshares and Laurentian Bank of Canada’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hawthorn Bancshares	22.77%	15.40%	1.39%
Laurentian Bank of Canada	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Hawthorn Bancshares and Laurentian Bank of Canada, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hawthorn Bancshares	0	0	1	0	3.00
Laurentian Bank of Canada	1	3	0	0	1.75

Institutional and Insider Ownership

30.7% of Hawthorn Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.7% of Laurentian Bank of Canada shares are held by institutional investors. 22.9% of Hawthorn Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Hawthorn Bancshares and Laurentian Bank of Canada”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hawthorn Bancshares	$111.97 million	2.47	$23.80 million	$3.82	10.49
Laurentian Bank of Canada	N/A	N/A	N/A	$4.50	6.42

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

Dividends

Hawthorn Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Laurentian Bank of Canada pays an annual dividend of $2.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.1%. Hawthorn Bancshares pays out 22.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Laurentian Bank of Canada pays out 45.8% 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. Hawthorn Bancshares has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Summary

Hawthorn Bancshares beats Laurentian Bank of Canada on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hawthorn Bancshares

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Hawthorn Bank that provides various banking services in the United States. It accepts checking, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial and industrial, single payment personal, installment, commercial and residential real estate, and consumer loans, as well as equipment, operating, and small business administration loans; and debit and credit cards. In addition, it provides trust services that include estate planning, investment, and asset management services; and cash management, safety deposit box, brokerage, and Internet banking services. Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Jefferson City, Missouri.

About Laurentian Bank of Canada

Laurentian Bank of Canada, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial services to personal, business, and institutional customers in Canada and the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Capital Markets. The Personal Banking segment offers financial services, such as financial advisory services to financial intermediaries; and operates digital direct-to-customer platform to retail clients. The Commercial Banking segment provides financial services, including commercial banking, real estate financing, and equipment and inventory financing to business clients. The Capital Markets segment offers a range of services, such as research, market analysis, and advisory services; corporate underwriting services for debt and equity; and administrative services. The company was founded in 1846 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.