Critical Comparison: Bank of Queensland (OTCMKTS:BKQNF) & Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Bank of Queensland (OTCMKTS:BKQNF) and Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) are both financial services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Bank of Queensland and Heritage Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of Queensland	N/A	N/A	N/A
Heritage Financial	14.59%	7.95%	0.94%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Bank of Queensland and Heritage Financial’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank of Queensland	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Heritage Financial	$217.60 million	3.47	$61.76 million	$1.33	16.38

Heritage Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Bank of Queensland.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Bank of Queensland and Heritage Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of Queensland	0	0	0	0	N/A
Heritage Financial	0	2	2	0	2.50

Heritage Financial has a consensus price target of $23.50, indicating a potential upside of 7.90%. Given Heritage Financial’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Heritage Financial is more favorable than Bank of Queensland.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

17.4% of Bank of Queensland shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.3% of Heritage Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Heritage Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Heritage Financial beats Bank of Queensland on 8 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank of Queensland

Bank of Queensland Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial services in Australia and New Zealand. The company operates in Retail Banking, BOQ Business, and Other segments. It offers personal banking services comprises savings and term deposits, and transactional accounts; debit and credit cards; home, personal, and car loans; and travel, home and content, landlord, and car insurance, as well as investment services comprising online share trading services, and self-managed superannuation funds. The company's business banking services include transaction accounts, and savings and investment accounts; loans and finance products, such as business loans, equipment and vehicle finance, and dealer finance; merchant and payment products; and financial market and international services. It also offers Internet and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Newstead, Australia.

About Heritage Financial

Heritage Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank that provides various financial services to small and medium sized businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest demand deposits, interest bearing demand deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, personal checking accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company’s loan portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, owner-occupied and non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans, one-to-four family residential loans, real estate construction and land development loans, consumer loans, commercial business loans, lines of credit, term equipment financing, and term real estate loans, as well as commercial business loans to a range of businesses in industries that include real estate and rental and leasing, healthcare, accommodation and food services, retail trade, and construction. It also originates loans that are guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration; and provides objective advice from trusted advisers. The company was formerly known as Heritage Financial Corporation, M.H.C. and changed its name to Heritage Financial Corporation in 1998. Heritage Financial Corporation was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Olympia, Washington.