Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) & UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) Financial Comparison

UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) and Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares UMB Financial and Sierra Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
UMB Financial	$4.14 billion	2.56	$702.40 million	$12.01	11.61
Sierra Bancorp	$201.98 million	2.61	$42.33 million	$3.42	11.91

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

Volatility & Risk

UMB Financial has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sierra Bancorp has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for UMB Financial and Sierra Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
UMB Financial	0	3	11	1	2.87
Sierra Bancorp	0	3	2	0	2.40

UMB Financial presently has a consensus price target of $168.92, indicating a potential upside of 21.10%. Sierra Bancorp has a consensus price target of $38.67, indicating a potential downside of 5.07%. Given UMB Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe UMB Financial is more favorable than Sierra Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares UMB Financial and Sierra Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
UMB Financial	21.64%	13.41%	1.38%
Sierra Bancorp	22.37%	12.38%	1.20%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.8% of UMB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.4% of Sierra Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of UMB Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.8% of Sierra Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

UMB Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Sierra Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. UMB Financial pays out 16.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sierra Bancorp pays out 31.6% 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. UMB Financial has raised its dividend for 32 consecutive years and Sierra Bancorp has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Summary

UMB Financial beats Sierra Bancorp on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About UMB Financial

UMB Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company that provides banking services and asset servicing in the United States and internationally. The Commercial Banking segment provides commercial loans and credit card; commercial real estate financing; letters of credit; loan syndication, and consultative service; various business solutions including asset-based lending, mezzanine debt, and minority equity investment; and treasury management service, such as depository service, account reconciliation, cash management tool, accounts payable and receivable solution, electronic fund transfer and automated payment, controlled disbursement, lockbox service, and remote deposit capture service. The Institutional Banking segment offers fund, asset management, and healthcare service to institutional clients; and fund administration and accounting, investor service and transfer agency, mutual fund service, alternative investment service, fixed income sale, trading and underwriting, and corporate trust and escrow service, as well as institutional custody service. This segment also provides healthcare payment solution includes custodial service for health saving accounts and private label, multipurpose debit cards to insurance carriers, third-party administrator, software companies, employers, and financial institutions. The Personal Banking segment offers deposit account, retail credit card, private banking, installment loan, home equity line of credit, residential mortgage, as well as internet banking, ATM network, private banking, brokerage and insurance service, and investment advisory, custody, and trust services. It operates through a network of branches and offices. The company was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

About Sierra Bancorp

Sierra Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Bank of the Sierra that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in California. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market demand accounts, time deposits, retirement accounts, and sweep accounts. The company's loan products include agricultural, commercial, consumer, real estate, construction, and mortgage loans. It also offers automated teller machines; electronic point-of-sale payment alternatives; online and automated telephone banking services; and remote deposit capture and automated payroll services for business customers. Sierra Bancorp was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Porterville, California.