Chesapeake Financial Shares (OTCMKTS:CPKF) and Ames National (NASDAQ:ATLO) Financial Survey

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

Volatility & Risk

Ames National has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chesapeake Financial Shares has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Ames National pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Chesapeake Financial Shares pays an annual dividend of $0.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Ames National pays out 72.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Chesapeake Financial Shares pays out 31.8% 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.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

26.5% of Ames National shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.7% of Chesapeake Financial Shares shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of Ames National shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 39.5% of Chesapeake Financial Shares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Ames National and Chesapeake Financial Shares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ames National	11.49%	6.27%	0.46%
Chesapeake Financial Shares	10.11%	9.60%	0.63%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ames National and Chesapeake Financial Shares’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ames National	$52.87 million	3.18	$10.82 million	$1.11	16.84
Chesapeake Financial Shares	$82.72 million	1.03	$10.12 million	$1.95	9.27

Ames National has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Chesapeake Financial Shares. Chesapeake Financial Shares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ames National, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Ames National and Chesapeake Financial Shares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ames National	0	0	0	0	N/A
Chesapeake Financial Shares	0	0	0	0	N/A

Summary

Ames National beats Chesapeake Financial Shares on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ames National

Ames National Corporation operates as a multi-bank holding company that provides banking products and services primarily in Boone, Clarke, Hancock, Marshall, Polk, Story, and Union counties in central, north central, and south-central Iowa. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking and savings accounts; and time deposits, such as money market accounts and certificates of deposit. It also provides loans, such as short-term and medium-term commercial and agricultural real estate, residential real estate loans, equipment, vehicle, and home improvement loans; consumer loans to finance consumer purchases, such as automobiles, trucks, recreational vehicles, household furnishings, boats, personal loans, and lines of credit; agricultural and business operating loans and lines of credit; and originates mortgage loans for sale into the secondary market. In addition, the company offers cash management, merchant credit card processing, safe deposit box, wire transfer, direct deposit, and automated/video teller machine access services; and automatic drafts for various accounts, as well as wealth management services. Further, it provides farm management, investment, and custodial services for individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations; and online, mobile, and private banking services. Ames National Corporation was incorporated in 1903 and is headquartered in Ames, Iowa.

About Chesapeake Financial Shares

Chesapeake Financial Shares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Chesapeake Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company accepts interest and noninterest checking, savings, and money market accounts; and variable-rate and fixed-term money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also offers mortgage, and single-family residential and residential construction loans; commercial loans, which include owner-occupied commercial development, retail, builders/contractors, medical, service and professional, hospitality, nonprofits, marine industry, and agricultural and seafood loans; and consumer and other loans. In addition, the company provides merchant processing, accounts receivable financing, wealth management and trust, and mortgage banking services, as well as cash management services. The company was founded in 1900 and is based in Kilmarnock, Virginia.