Landmark Bancorp (LARK) Competitors

Landmark Bancorp (NASDAQ:LARK) and South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, community ranking, media sentiment, institutional ownership and valuation.

Does the media prefer LARK or SPFI?

In the previous week, South Plains Financial had 3 more articles in the media than Landmark Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for South Plains Financial and 2 mentions for Landmark Bancorp. Landmark Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.39 beat South Plains Financial's score of 0.16 indicating that Landmark Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Landmark Bancorp	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
South Plains Financial	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, LARK or SPFI?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Landmark Bancorp	$89.35M	1.56	$13M	$2.27	10.64
South Plains Financial	$288.97M	1.92	$49.72M	$2.92	11.58

Is LARK or SPFI a better dividend stock?

Landmark Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. South Plains Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Landmark Bancorp pays out 37.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. South Plains Financial pays out 20.5% 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.

Which has more volatility and risk, LARK or SPFI?

Landmark Bancorp has a beta of 0.46, suggesting that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, South Plains Financial has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders believe in LARK or SPFI?

25.7% of Landmark Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.0% of South Plains Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.2% of Landmark Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 25.4% of South Plains Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer LARK or SPFI?

Landmark Bancorp received 123 more outperform votes than South Plains Financial when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 56.95% of users gave Landmark Bancorp an outperform vote while only 56.32% of users gave South Plains Financial an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Landmark Bancorp	Outperform Votes 172 56.95%	Underperform Votes 130 43.05%
South Plains Financial	Outperform Votes 49 56.32%	Underperform Votes 38 43.68%

Is LARK or SPFI more profitable?

South Plains Financial has a net margin of 17.20% compared to Landmark Bancorp's net margin of 14.51%. South Plains Financial's return on equity of 11.75% beat Landmark Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Landmark Bancorp	14.51%	10.51%	0.89%
South Plains Financial	17.20%	11.75%	1.17%

Do analysts recommend LARK or SPFI?

South Plains Financial has a consensus price target of $42.67, suggesting a potential upside of 26.23%. Given South Plains Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe South Plains Financial is more favorable than Landmark Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Landmark Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
South Plains Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Summary

South Plains Financial beats Landmark Bancorp on 16 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.