Lake Shore Bancorp (LSBK) Competitors

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) and Lake Shore Bancorp (NASDAQ:LSBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, media sentiment, valuation and earnings.

Is WTBA or LSBK more profitable?

Lake Shore Bancorp has a net margin of 15.08% compared to West Bancorporation's net margin of 14.40%. West Bancorporation's return on equity of 12.26% beat Lake Shore Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
West Bancorporation	14.40%	12.26%	0.72%
Lake Shore Bancorp	15.08%	6.41%	0.84%

Which has better valuation & earnings, WTBA or LSBK?

West Bancorporation has higher revenue and earnings than Lake Shore Bancorp. West Bancorporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lake Shore Bancorp, 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
West Bancorporation	$198.50M	1.72	$24.05M	$1.70	11.88
Lake Shore Bancorp	$38.11M	2.66	$4.93M	$0.86	15.06

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of WTBA or LSBK?

44.3% of West Bancorporation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 8.8% of Lake Shore Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 4.6% of West Bancorporation shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Lake Shore Bancorp shares are held 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 media prefer WTBA or LSBK?

In the previous week, West Bancorporation had 1 more articles in the media than Lake Shore Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 1 mentions for West Bancorporation and 0 mentions for Lake Shore Bancorp. West Bancorporation's average media sentiment score of 1.73 beat Lake Shore Bancorp's score of 0.00 indicating that West Bancorporation is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
West Bancorporation	Very Positive
Lake Shore Bancorp	Neutral

Is WTBA or LSBK a better dividend stock?

West Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Lake Shore Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. West Bancorporation pays out 58.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lake Shore Bancorp pays out 41.9% 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.

Do analysts rate WTBA or LSBK?

West Bancorporation currently has a consensus price target of $20.50, suggesting a potential upside of 1.49%. Given West Bancorporation's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe West Bancorporation is more favorable than Lake Shore Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
West Bancorporation	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Lake Shore Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Which has more risk & volatility, WTBA or LSBK?

West Bancorporation has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lake Shore Bancorp has a beta of 0.32, indicating that its share price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

West Bancorporation beats Lake Shore Bancorp on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.