Contrasting Town and Country Financial (OTCMKTS:TWCF) and Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB)

Town and Country Financial (OTCMKTS:TWCF) and Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Town and Country Financial and Independent Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Town and Country Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
Independent Bank	1	3	1	0	2.00

Independent Bank has a consensus price target of $76.50, indicating a potential downside of 10.19%. Given Independent Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Independent Bank is more favorable than Town and Country Financial.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.4% of Independent Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Independent Bank shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Town and Country Financial and Independent Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Town and Country Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A
Independent Bank	17.51%	7.88%	1.16%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Town and Country Financial and Independent Bank”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Town and Country Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Independent Bank	$1.17 billion	3.61	$205.12 million	$4.45	19.14

Independent Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Town and Country Financial.

Summary

Independent Bank beats Town and Country Financial on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Town and Country Financial

Town & Country Financial Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of banking and financial services. It offers loans, investments, deposits, and cash management operations. Its has offices in Buffalo, Decatur, Edwardsville, Fairview Heights, Jacksonville, Lincoln, Mt. Zion, Springfield, and Quincy. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Springfield, IL.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Rockland Trust Company that provides commercial banking products and services to individuals and small-to-medium sized businesses in the United States. The company provides interest checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as demand deposits and time certificates of deposit. It offers commercial real estate and construction, commercial and industrial, small business, secured and unsecured commercial, and consumer real estate loans; term loans and revolving/nonrevolving lines of credit; overdraft protection and letters of credit; and residential mortgages and home equity loans and lines. In addition, the company provides cash management services, such as ACH transaction processing, positive pay, and remote deposit services; investment management and trust services to individuals, institutions, small businesses, and charitable institutions; mobile, online, and telephone banking; estate settlement, financial planning, tax services, and other services; automated teller machines; debit and credit cards; and mutual fund and unit investment trust shares, third party model portfolios, general securities, fixed and variable annuities, and life insurance products, as well as advisory platforms. Further, it invests in low-income housing tax credit projects; holds, maintains, and disposes foreclosed properties; and operates as an investment advisor. Independent Bank Corp. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Rockland, Massachusetts.