Middlefield Bench (NASDAQ: MBCN – Get a rating) and Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC – Get a rating) are both finance companies, but which stock is superior? We’ll compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, risk, and dividends.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Middlefield Banc and Wintrust Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sales Ratings | Hold odds | Buy reviews | Strong buy odds | Rating | |
| Middlefield Bench | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Wintrust Financial | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3.14 |
Middlefield Banc currently has a consensus price target of $5.00, indicating a potential downside of 80.73%. Wintrust Financial has a consensus price target of $115.29, indicating a potential upside of 29.30%. Given Wintrust Financial’s higher consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly think Wintrust Financial is more favorable than Middlefield Banc.
Benefits and evaluation
This table compares the gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation of Middlefield Banc and Wintrust Financial.
| Gross revenue | Price/sales ratio | Net revenue | Earnings per share | Price/earnings ratio | |
| Middlefield Bench | $59.54 million | 2.56 | $18.63 million | $3.01 | 8.62 |
| Wintrust Financial | $1.86 billion | 2.74 | $466.15 million | $7.12 | 12.52 |
Wintrust Financial has higher revenue and profit than Middlefield Banc. Middlefield Banc trades at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Wintrust Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
28.8% of Middlefield Banc shares are held by institutional investors. By comparison, 89.7% of Wintrust Financial’s shares are held by institutional investors. 5.2% of Middlefield Banc shares are held by insiders of the company. By comparison, 1.4% of Wintrust Financial’s stock is held by insiders of the company. Strong institutional ownership indicates that endowments, hedge funds, and large fund managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Dividends
Middlefield Banc pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Wintrust Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Middlefield Banc distributes 22.6% of its profits as a dividend. Wintrust Financial pays 19.1% of its profits as a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings over the next few years. Middlefield Banc has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive year and Wintrust Financial has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years.
Profitability
This table compares the net margins, return on equity and return on assets of Middlefield Banc and Wintrust Financial.
| Net margins | Return on equity | return on assets | |
| Middlefield Bench | 31.63% | 12.55% | 1.35% |
| Wintrust Financial | 23.67% | 10.95% | 0.90% |
Risk and Volatility
Middlefield Banc has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. In comparison, Wintrust Financial has a beta of 1.29, suggesting that its stock price stock is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Wintrust Financial beats Middlefield Banc on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Middlefield Bench (Get a rating)
Middlefield Banc Corp. operates as a bank holding company for The Middlefield Banking Company which provides various commercial banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, small business owners and retail customers in Northeast and Central Ohio . It offers checking accounts, savings accounts, negotiable withdrawal orders, money market accounts, term deposit certificates, business loans, home loans, various consumer loans, safe deposit boxes and travellers cheques. The Company also offers working and operating capital, commercial term loans, home construction loans, business, residential and mortgage loans, and consumer home improvement installment loans. , automobiles, boats and other personal expenses; loans to finance fixed asset purchases; certain guaranteed or subsidized loan programs for small businesses; and agricultural loans. Additionally, it provides official checks, money orders, ATM services, as well as IRA accounts; online banking and bill payment services for individuals; and online cash management services for business customers. Additionally, the company is resolving and disposing of distressed assets in Ohio. As of December 31, 2021, it has 17 banking centers in Chardon, Newbury and Middlefield, Garrettsville, Mantua, Orwell, Cortland, Dublin, Westerville, Sunbury, Powell, Beachwood, Solon, Twinsburg and Plain City; as well as an administrative office in Middlefield and a loan production office in Mentor. Middlefield Banc Corp. was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Middlefield, Ohio.
About Wintrust Financial (Get a rating)
Wintrust Financial Corporation operates as a financial holding company. It operates in three segments: Community Banking, Specialty Finance and Wealth Management. The Community Banking segment offers non-interest bearing deposits, non-intermediate interest bearing transaction accounts, as well as domestic savings and term deposits; home, consumer and real estate loans; safes; and automated teller machine (ATM), online and mobile banking and other services. It is also involved in the origination and retail purchase of residential mortgages for sale in the secondary market; and providing lending, deposit and cash management services to condominiums, landlords and community associations, as well as asset-based lending for middle-market businesses. Additionally, this segment offers loan and deposit services to mortgage brokerage firms; loans to franchised restaurants; direct rental; small business administration loans; commercial mortgages and construction loans; and financial solutions. It provides personal and commercial banking services primarily to individuals, small and medium enterprises, local government units and institutional clients. The Specialty Finance segment provides commercial and life insurance premium financing to businesses and individuals; accounts receivable financing, value-added services and outsourced administrative services; and other specialized financial services, as well as data processing payroll, billing and cash management services for the temporary staffing industry. The Wealth Management segment provides trust and investment, asset management, tax-deferred exchange, securities brokerage and pension plan services. The company operates 173 banking locations and 228 ATMs in the Chicago metro area, southern Wisconsin, northwest Indiana and Florida. Wintrust Financial Corporation was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois.
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