Head to Head Analysis: BNCCORP (OTCMKTS:BNCC) and Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) and BNCCORP (OTCMKTS:BNCC) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends and earnings.

Risk and Volatility

Commerce Bancshares has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BNCCORP has a beta of 0.36, suggesting that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

70.3% of Commerce Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of Commerce Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 28.4% of BNCCORP shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Commerce Bancshares and BNCCORP’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Commerce Bancshares	26.48%	15.73%	1.74%
BNCCORP	15.94%	8.95%	0.91%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Commerce Bancshares and BNCCORP, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Commerce Bancshares	2	7	1	0	1.90
BNCCORP	0	0	0	0	0.00

Commerce Bancshares presently has a consensus price target of $62.03, indicating a potential upside of 15.20%. Given Commerce Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Commerce Bancshares is more favorable than BNCCORP.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Commerce Bancshares and BNCCORP”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Commerce Bancshares	$2.09 billion	3.42	$526.33 million	$4.19	12.85
BNCCORP	$52.44 million	2.25	$7.93 million	$2.50	13.30

Commerce Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than BNCCORP. Commerce Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BNCCORP, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Commerce Bancshares beats BNCCORP on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Commerce Bancshares

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Commerce Bank that provides retail, mortgage banking, corporate, investment, trust, and asset management products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Consumer, Commercial, and Wealth. The Consumer segment offers various banking products and services, including consumer deposits; consumer loans, such as automobile, motorcycle, marine, tractor/trailer, recreational vehicle, fixed rate and revolving home equity, and other consumer loans; patient health care financing; real estate loans; indirect and other consumer financing; retail branch network; personal mortgage banking; consumer installment lending; and consumer debit and credit bank cards. The Commercial segment provides corporate lending, leasing, international, merchant and commercial bank card, and securities safekeeping and bond accounting services; and business products, government deposits, and related commercial cash management services, as well as sells fixed income securities to correspondent banks, corporations, public institutions, municipalities, and individuals. The Wealth segment provides traditional trust and estate planning, advisory and discretionary investment portfolio management, and brokerage services, as well as private banking accounts. The company also offers private equity investment, securities brokerage, insurance agency, specialty lending, and leasing services, as well as online and mobile banking services. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

About BNCCORP

BNCCORP, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for BNC National Bank that provides community banking, retail and mortgage banking, and wealth management services to businesses and consumers. The company offers commercial banking services, including business financing, commercial real estate lending, small business administration loans, business checking, cash management, corporate credit cards, and merchant services to small to middle-market businesses. It also provides retail and mortgage banking services, such as personal checking and savings products, personal loans, and card services; and residential loans through a consumer direct channel, as well as a retail channel. In addition, the company offers wealth management solutions, including 401(k) and other retirement plans, trust services, and personal wealth advisory services. It offers community banking and wealth management services through 11 locations in Arizona and North Dakota; and mortgage banking services through 7 locations in Arizona, North Dakota, Illinois, and Kansas. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota.