Financial Survey: Eagle Bancorp (NASDAQ:EGBN) & Potomac Bancshares (OTCMKTS:PTBS)

Eagle Bancorp (NASDAQ:EGBN) and Potomac Bancshares (OTCMKTS:PTBS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Dividends

Eagle Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. Potomac Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Eagle Bancorp pays out -1.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Potomac Bancshares pays out 25.4% 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

78.0% of Eagle Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.3% of Potomac Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 3.4% of Eagle Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of Potomac Bancshares shares are held 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Eagle Bancorp and Potomac Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eagle Bancorp	$301.74 million	2.83	-$138.05 million	($3.79)	-7.40
Potomac Bancshares	$54.90 million	1.95	$10.60 million	$2.36	10.12

Potomac Bancshares has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Eagle Bancorp. Eagle Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Potomac Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Eagle Bancorp and Potomac Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eagle Bancorp	1	2	0	1	2.25
Potomac Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

Eagle Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $28.67, indicating a potential upside of 2.27%. Given Eagle Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Eagle Bancorp is more favorable than Potomac Bancshares.

Risk & Volatility

Eagle Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Potomac Bancshares has a beta of 0.26, suggesting that its stock price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Eagle Bancorp and Potomac Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eagle Bancorp	-18.65%	-10.03%	-1.10%
Potomac Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

About Eagle Bancorp

Eagle Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for EagleBank that provides commercial and consumer banking services primarily in the United States. The company also offers various commercial and consumer lending products comprising commercial loans for working capital, equipment purchases, real estate lines of credit, and government contract financing; asset based lending and accounts receivable financing; construction and commercial real estate loans; business equipment financing; consumer home equity lines of credit, personal lines of credit, and term loans; consumer installment loans, such as auto and personal loans; personal credit cards; and residential mortgage loans. In addition, it provides online and mobile banking services; checking and saving accounts; and other deposit services, including cash management services, business sweep accounts, lock boxes, remote deposit captures, account reconciliation services, merchant card services, safety deposit boxes, and automated clearing house origination, as well as after-hours depositories and ATM services. Further, the company offers insurance products and services through a referral program; and treasury management services. The company serves sole proprietors, small and medium-sized businesses, partnerships, corporations, and non-profit organizations and associations, as well as investors. Eagle Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.

About Potomac Bancshares

Potomac Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Bank of Charles Town that provides various banking products and services to individuals and businesses. The company offers checking, savings, and individual retirement accounts; and certificates of deposit (CD). It also provides personal loans, including new and used vehicle, home equity, unsecured home improvement and personal, retail equipment, and lot loans, as well as loans secured by CD, and home equity lines of credit; commercial loans for building or office purchases, commercial real estate and construction, and production and administrative equipment purchases; lines of credit; mortgage, commercial, term, residential and commercial construction, commercial real estate, and agricultural loans; and credit and debit cards. In addition, the company offers Card Pay, cash management, merchant, financial planning, trust and estate, investment management, wealth management, full-service brokerage, retirement and insurance planning and products, asset allocation and management, and college planning services, as well as telephone, mobile, and online banking services. Potomac Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1871 and is based in Charles Town, West Virginia.