Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI) & SR Bancorp (NASDAQ:SRBK) Head-To-Head Survey

SR Bancorp (NASDAQ:SRBK) and Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

SR Bancorp has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Community Trust Bancorp has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares SR Bancorp and Community Trust Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SR Bancorp	$51.80 million	3.00	$3.35 million	$0.45	42.64
Community Trust Bancorp	$409.34 million	3.35	$98.06 million	$5.97	12.64

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

Dividends

SR Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Community Trust Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. SR Bancorp pays out 53.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Community Trust Bancorp pays out 43.6% 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. Community Trust Bancorp has raised its dividend for 44 consecutive years. Community Trust Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares SR Bancorp and Community Trust Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SR Bancorp	6.47%	1.61%	0.27%
Community Trust Bancorp	25.55%	12.52%	1.60%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for SR Bancorp and Community Trust Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SR Bancorp	0	1	1	0	2.50
Community Trust Bancorp	0	2	1	1	2.75

SR Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $19.00, suggesting a potential downside of 0.99%. Community Trust Bancorp has a consensus target price of $81.50, suggesting a potential upside of 8.01%. Given Community Trust Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Community Trust Bancorp is more favorable than SR Bancorp.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

24.7% of SR Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.2% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 7.8% of SR Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Community Trust Bancorp beats SR Bancorp on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SR Bancorp

SR Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Somerset Regal Bank that provides customary retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and local municipalities in the communities of Somerset, Middlesex, Hunterdon, and Essex counties in New Jersey. It offers deposit instruments, including noninterest-bearing demand deposits, interest-bearing demand accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides loans comprising one- to four family-residential mortgage loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, unsecured personal loans, and rehabilitation loans; and bill payment services. In addition, it is involved in the investment activities. The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Bound Brook, New Jersey.

About Community Trust Bancorp

Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Trust Bank, Inc. that engages in the provision of commercial and personal banking, and trust and wealth management services to small and mid-sized communities in eastern, northeastern, central, and south-central Kentucky, as well as southern West Virginia, and northeastern Tennessee. The company accepts time and demand deposits, checking accounts, savings accounts and savings certificates, individual retirement accounts and Keogh plans, and money market accounts. Its loan portfolio includes commercial, construction, mortgage, and personal loans; lease-financing, lines of credit, revolving lines of credit, and term loans, as well as other specialized loans, including asset-based financing; residential and commercial real estate loans; and consumer loans. The company also provides cash management, renting safe deposit boxes, and funds transfer services; issues letters of credit; and acts as a trustee of personal trusts, executor of estates, trustee for employee benefit trusts, and paying agent for bond and stock issues, as well as an investment agent and depositor for securities. In addition, it offers securities brokerage services; debit cards; annuity and life insurance products; and repurchase agreements, as well as mobile, internet banking, and e-statement services. The company was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Pikeville, Kentucky.