AMB Financial (OTCMKTS:AMFC) and Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Head to Head Analysis

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) and AMB Financial (OTCMKTS:AMFC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Heritage Financial has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AMB Financial has a beta of 0.15, meaning that its share price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Heritage Financial and AMB Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Heritage Financial	$335.97 million	3.20	$67.53 million	$1.96	13.32
AMB Financial	$23.37 million	1.28	$3.42 million	N/A	N/A

Heritage Financial has higher revenue and earnings than AMB Financial.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Heritage Financial and AMB Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Heritage Financial	0	3	3	0	2.50
AMB Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

Heritage Financial currently has a consensus price target of $31.00, indicating a potential upside of 18.77%. Given Heritage Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Heritage Financial is more favorable than AMB Financial.

Profitability

This table compares Heritage Financial and AMB Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Heritage Financial	20.10%	8.61%	1.10%
AMB Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.3% of Heritage Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.2% of AMB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Heritage Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 37.7% of AMB Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Heritage Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. AMB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Heritage Financial pays out 49.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Heritage Financial has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Heritage Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Heritage Financial beats AMB Financial on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Heritage Financial

Heritage Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank that provides various financial services to small and medium sized businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest demand deposits, interest bearing demand deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, personal checking accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company’s loan portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, owner-occupied and non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans, one-to-four family residential loans, real estate construction and land development loans, consumer loans, commercial business loans, lines of credit, term equipment financing, and term real estate loans, as well as commercial business loans to a range of businesses in industries that include real estate and rental and leasing, healthcare, accommodation and food services, retail trade, and construction. It also originates loans that are guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration; and provides objective advice from trusted advisers. The company was formerly known as Heritage Financial Corporation, M.H.C. and changed its name to Heritage Financial Corporation in 1998. Heritage Financial Corporation was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Olympia, Washington.

About AMB Financial

AMB Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for American Community Bank of Indiana that provides financial services to customers in Indiana. The company provides savings, checking, health savings, individual retirement, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It offers business checking accounts, business debit and credit cards, and order business checks. In addition, the company offers mortgage loans, home equity loans, construction/lot loans, community loans, vehicle loans, and loan servicing; and commercial loans, commercial real estate loans, and SBA loans. Further, it provides merchant, remote deposit, wire services, fraud protection, and ACH origination; sweep services, zero balance accounts, lockbox services, vault services, and wealth management services; online, mobile, voice, and banking services; money order and e-statement services; cashier’s checks; and safe deposit boxes. The company was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Saint John, Indiana.