Reviewing Trustmark (NASDAQ:TRMK) and Truxton (OTCMKTS:TRUX)

Truxton (OTCMKTS:TRUX) and Trustmark (NASDAQ:TRMK) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Risk & Volatility

Truxton has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Trustmark has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Truxton and Trustmark’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Truxton	23.28%	N/A	N/A
Trustmark	19.95%	10.77%	1.20%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Truxton and Trustmark, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Truxton	0	0	0	0	0.00
Trustmark	0	3	2	0	2.40

Trustmark has a consensus price target of $43.83, suggesting a potential upside of 2.44%. Given Trustmark’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Trustmark is more favorable than Truxton.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Truxton and Trustmark”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Truxton	$92.29 million	2.67	$21.48 million	$7.44	11.56
Trustmark	$1.12 billion	2.24	$224.13 million	$3.71	11.53

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.3% of Truxton shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.6% of Trustmark shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Trustmark shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Truxton pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Trustmark pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Truxton pays out 26.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Trustmark pays out 27.0% 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. Trustmark has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Trustmark is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Trustmark beats Truxton on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Truxton

Truxton Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various banking, investment management, and trust administration services to individuals, businesses, and charitable institutions in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including demand, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also provides lending products, such as residential and commercial real estate mortgages, commercial loans, construction and land development loans, commercial and industrial loans, operating lines of credit, and loans to individual. In addition, the company offers strategic and capital advisory services, business banking, and treasury management services; and insurance products. The company was formerly known as NBT Holdings Inc. and changed its name to Truxton Corporation in May 2013. Truxton Corporation was founded in 2004 and is based in Nashville, Tennessee.

About Trustmark

Trustmark Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Trustmark National Bank that provides banking and other financial solutions to individuals and corporate institutions in the United States. The company operates through three segments: General Banking, Wealth Management, and Insurance. It offers checking, savings, and money market accounts; certificates of deposits and individual retirement accounts; financing for commercial and industrial projects, income-producing commercial real estate, owner-occupied real estate, and construction and land development; and installment and real estate loans, and lines of credit, as well as treasury management services. The company also provides mortgage banking services, including construction financing, production of conventional and government-insured mortgages, and secondary marketing and mortgage servicing. In addition, it provides wealth management and trust services, such as administration of personal trusts and estates; management of investment accounts for individuals, employee benefit plans, and charitable foundations; and corporate trust and institutional custody, securities brokerage, financial and estate planning, retirement plan, and investment management services. Further, the company offers business insurance products and services for medical professionals, construction, manufacturing, hospitality, real estate, and group life and health plans; and life and health insurance, and personal line policies for individual customers. Trustmark Corporation was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi.