Reviewing MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) & Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) and MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, profitability and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Bank OZK and MidWestOne Financial Group’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank OZK	$1.62 billion	2.81	$690.78 million	$5.97	6.73
MidWestOne Financial Group	$268.04 million	1.65	$20.86 million	$1.44	19.52

Bank OZK has higher revenue and earnings than MidWestOne Financial Group. Bank OZK is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MidWestOne Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Bank OZK and MidWestOne Financial Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank OZK	2	5	1	0	1.88
MidWestOne Financial Group	0	4	0	0	2.00

Bank OZK currently has a consensus price target of $46.71, suggesting a potential upside of 16.29%. MidWestOne Financial Group has a consensus price target of $26.38, suggesting a potential downside of 6.17%. Given Bank OZK’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Bank OZK is more favorable than MidWestOne Financial Group.

Dividends

Bank OZK pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. MidWestOne Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.97 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Bank OZK pays out 26.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MidWestOne Financial Group pays out 67.4% 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. Bank OZK has increased its dividend for 28 consecutive years and MidWestOne Financial Group has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Bank OZK is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Bank OZK and MidWestOne Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank OZK	27.04%	14.50%	2.01%
MidWestOne Financial Group	9.79%	5.27%	0.42%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

86.2% of Bank OZK shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.4% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 6.7% of Bank OZK shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Bank OZK has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MidWestOne Financial Group has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Bank OZK beats MidWestOne Financial Group on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK provides various retail and commercial banking services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers deposit services, including non-interest bearing checking, interest bearing transaction, business sweep, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other accounts, as well as time and reciprocal deposits. It also provides trust and wealth services, such as personal trusts, custodial accounts, investment management accounts, and retirement accounts, as well as corporate trust services, including trustee, paying agent and registered transfer agent services, and other related services. In addition, the company offers treasury management services comprising automated clearing house, wire transfer, transaction reporting, wholesale lockbox, remote deposit capture, automated credit line transfer, reconciliation, positive pay, commercial card, and other services, as well as zero balance and investment sweep accounts. Further, it provides real estate, consumer, small business, indirect recreational vehicle and marine, equipment, agricultural, commercial and industrial, government guaranteed, lines of credit, homebuilder, and affordable housing loans; lender and structured, business aviation, and subscription financing services; and mortgage and other lending products. Additionally, the company offers ATMs; telephone, online, and mobile banking services; credit and debit cards; safe deposit boxes; and other products and services. The company was formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks and changed its name to Bank OZK in July 2018. Bank OZK was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.

About MidWestOne Financial Group

MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for MidWestOne Bank that provides commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals, businesses, governmental units, and institutional customers. It offers range of deposit products, including noninterest bearing and interest bearing demand deposits, savings, money market, and time deposits accounts. The company also provides commercial, real estate, agricultural, credit card, and consumer loans; and financing arrangements, such as brokered deposits, term debt, subordinated debt, and equity. In addition, it offers trust and investment services comprising administering estates, trusts, and conservatorships; property and farm management, investment advisory, retail securities brokerage, financial planning, and custodial services; and licensed brokers services. Further, the company provides online and mobile banking, debit cards, automated teller machines, and safe deposit boxes. MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Iowa City, Iowa.