Head to Head Review: Codorus Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:CVLY) and Chester Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CNBA)

Codorus Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:CVLY) and Chester Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CNBA) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

52.1% of Codorus Valley Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 4.0% of Codorus Valley Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 38.8% of Chester Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Codorus Valley Bancorp and Chester Bancorp’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Codorus Valley Bancorp	$129.76 million	1.61	$24.97 million	$2.31	9.34
Chester Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Codorus Valley Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Chester Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Codorus Valley Bancorp and Chester Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Codorus Valley Bancorp	16.66%	12.01%	1.05%
Chester Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Codorus Valley Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Chester Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.3%. Codorus Valley Bancorp pays out 29.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Codorus Valley Bancorp and Chester Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Codorus Valley Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00
Chester Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

Codorus Valley Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $22.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.95%. Given Codorus Valley Bancorp’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Codorus Valley Bancorp is more favorable than Chester Bancorp.

Summary

Codorus Valley Bancorp beats Chester Bancorp on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Codorus Valley Bancorp

Codorus Valley Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for the PeoplesBank that provides community banking services in South Central Pennsylvania and Central Maryland. The company accepts demand, money market, time, and savings deposits, as well as certificates of deposit and checking account. It also offers commercial loans, such as builder and developer, commercial and residential real estate investor, hotel/motel, wholesale and retail, agriculture, manufacturing, and other loans; business loans; and consumer loans, including residential mortgage, home equity, and others. In addition, the company provides mortgage and wealth management services; credit cards; mobile banking and deposit; online bill pay and statement; treasury management; merchant services; and sells non-deposit investment products. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in York, Pennsylvania.

About Chester Bancorp

Chester Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Chester National Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals and businesses in Chester, Illinois. It offers checking accounts, such as regular checking, student checking, golden checking, and club checking accounts; savings accounts, including statement savings, Christmas club, and money market accounts; and certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts. The company also provides loans comprising mortgage, construction, lot, home equity, consumer, and business loans; and reorder check services. It operates two full service offices in Sparta, Illinois; and Perryville, Missouri. Chester Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is based in Chester, Illinois.