Analyzing Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) and HarborOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:HONE)

Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) and HarborOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:HONE) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Eagle Bancorp Montana and HarborOne Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eagle Bancorp Montana	7.06%	5.11%	0.41%
HarborOne Bancorp	5.20%	4.58%	0.47%

Volatility & Risk

Eagle Bancorp Montana has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HarborOne Bancorp has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

35.7% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.0% of HarborOne Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.7% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.9% of HarborOne Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Eagle Bancorp Montana and HarborOne Bancorp’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eagle Bancorp Montana	$79.91 million	1.40	$10.06 million	$1.12	12.45
HarborOne Bancorp	$160.61 million	3.50	$16.08 million	$0.37	34.03

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Eagle Bancorp Montana and HarborOne Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eagle Bancorp Montana	0	1	0	0	2.00
HarborOne Bancorp	0	2	0	0	2.00

Eagle Bancorp Montana presently has a consensus price target of $13.50, suggesting a potential downside of 3.16%. HarborOne Bancorp has a consensus price target of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.20%. Given HarborOne Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe HarborOne Bancorp is more favorable than Eagle Bancorp Montana.

Dividends

Eagle Bancorp Montana pays an annual dividend of $0.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. HarborOne Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Eagle Bancorp Montana pays out 50.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. HarborOne Bancorp pays out 86.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Eagle Bancorp Montana has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Eagle Bancorp Montana is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

HarborOne Bancorp beats Eagle Bancorp Montana on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eagle Bancorp Montana

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Opportunity Bank of Montana that provides various retail banking products and services to small businesses and individuals in Montana. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides 1-4 family residential mortgage loans, such as residential mortgages and construction of residential properties; commercial real estate loans, including multi-family dwellings, nonresidential property, commercial construction and development, and farmland loans; and second mortgage/home equity loans. In addition, it offers consumer loans, such as loans secured by collateral other than real estate, such as automobiles, recreational vehicles, and boats; personal loans and lines of credit; commercial business loans consisting of business loans and lines of credit on a secured and unsecured basis; construction loans; agricultural loans; and mortgage loan services. The company operates full-service branches and automated teller machines. Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Helena, Montana.

About HarborOne Bancorp

HarborOne Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for HarborOne Bank that provides financial services to individuals, families, small and mid-size businesses, and municipalities. The company operates in two segments, HarborOne Bank and HarborOne Mortgage. Its primary deposit products include checking, money market, savings, and term certificate of deposit accounts; and primary lending products comprise commercial real estate, commercial, residential mortgages, home equity, and consumer loans. The company also originates, sells, and services residential mortgage loans. In addition, it provides various educational services, such as free digital content, webinars, and recordings for small business and personal financial education under the HarborOne U name. The company operates through a network of full-service branches located in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as commercial lending offices in each of Boston, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island, as well as administrative offices in Brockton, Massachusetts, as well as ATM locations in Massachusetts. HarborOne Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Brockton, Massachusetts.